The opening sentence is poorly worded: "Racial differences in effort at work, if they exist, can potentially explain race-based wage/earnings disparities in the

The opening sentence is poorly worded: "Racial differences in effort at work, if they exist, can potentially explain race-based wage/earnings disparities in the labor market." This seems to emphasize the possibility of a cause and effect, which was not actually found. I'm not sure what a good alternative is, though, since "Racial differences in effort at work, if they don't exist, cannot explain race-based wage/earnings disparities in the labor market" is a double negative and more confusing.