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Seven Economic Facts About the U.S. Racial Wealth Gap

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Abstract

Using data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances and the U.S. Census Bureau, along with data and research from other sources, this paper presents seven economic facts about the racial wealth gap in the U.S. We present data on racial disparities in income, employment, homeownership, education, access to credit, and retirement savings – all factors that contribute to a significant and persistent gap in net worth between households of different races and ethnicities, particularly between Black households and White households. While none of the economic factors listed fully explains the racial wealth gap, each factor, along with a history of racism and discrimination has contributed to the extreme wealth inequality in America today.

Suggested Citation

  • Darlene Booth-Bell & Kristen Broady & Taylor Griffin, 2022. "Seven Economic Facts About the U.S. Racial Wealth Gap," Working Paper Series WP 2022-32, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhwp:95178
    DOI: 10.21033/wp-2022-32
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    1. Pager, Devah & Western, Bruce & Bonikowski, Bart, 2009. "Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market: A Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 4469, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    3. Melvin Oliver & Thomas Shapiro, 1989. "Race and wealth," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 17(4), pages 5-25, March.
    4. Matthew S. Rutledge & Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher, 2019. "What Financial Risks Do Retirees Face in Late Life?," Issues in Brief ib2019-1, Center for Retirement Research.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wealth inequality; income; education; credit;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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