How can policy-makers craft policy that simultaneously strives for an ideal of equity and efficiency, while taking into account empirical knowledge of human behavior? Although this question is at the core of effective policy design, its answer is elusive. The papers on this panel generate key insights into the answer by engaging the question through the lens of race and identity. Pope, Price, and Wolfers provide compelling evidence of the role of scholarship on racial bias in social change. Martin and Glaser explore the cognitive bases of racial profiling in an effort to bridge the gap between implicit attitudes and explicit policy preferences. Finn explores the incongruence between explicitly-reported individual preferences and subsequent voting behavior for group members. By bringing together research that shares a focus on the interaction of policy ideals and actual behavior, this panel advances our understanding of how the challenges of effective policy design can best be met.