In Conversation with Dr. Bocar A. Ba (Economics, Duke University)

Dr. Bocar A. Ba is Assistant Professor of Economics at Duke University, and Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He is an applied microeconomist studying law enforcement, crime, and inequality. His research examines policing as a critical entry point into the legal system, particularly for marginalized communities, and explores how different stakeholders—police, civilians, unions, media, firms, and policymakers—shape law enforcement behavior and resource allocation. His work, grounded in labor economics and political economy, focuses on use of force, police misconduct, spending, and police alternatives. In collaboration with the Invisible Institute, he co-developed the Civic Police Data Project, a platform that collects data on Chicago police officers, including misconduct, use of force, and awards. He also serves as an advisor to several other platforms tracking police performance and behavior, such as policescorecard.org, policedata.org, Mapping Police Violence, and dontcallthepolice.com, which provides vetted alternatives to policing across the U.S. and Canada. His work has been published or accepted in top journals, including American Journal of Political Science, Science, Journal of Labor Economics, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Economic Perspectives, and American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Bocar holds a BSc in Economics from the Université du Québec à Montréal, an MA from the University of British Columbia, and an MPP/PhD from the University of Chicago. Find Dr. Ba's recent publications here, including "Officer-Involved: The Media Language of Police Killings," in the Quarterly Journal of Economics (May 2025). Find more about Dr. Ba's research here, including research grants from the National Science Foundation and more. Dr. Ba is on leave at the Princeton Center for the Study of Democratic Politics for the 2025-26 academic year. Find his website here.

Series organizers (alphabetical) are Amber Broaden (CSUSB and CSU Dominguez Hills, Psychology), Stan Futch (President, Westside Action Group), Michael German (Brennan Center for Justice), Robie Madrigal (Pfau Library), Dr. Jeremy Murray (CSUSB History), Matt Patino (Crafton Hills College Adjunct Faculty), Dr. Mary Texeira (CSUSB Sociology). Click here to view previous  and upcoming panels in the Conversations on Race and Policing series (link). Thanks to Project Rebound for their support of this event!