Black-white Inequality Research Articles

Explaining the Female Black-White Obesity Gap: A Decomposition Analysis of Proximal Causes

There exists remarkably large differences in body weights and obesity prevalence between black and white women in the US, and crucially these differences are a significant contributor to black-white inequalities in health. In this paper, we investigate the most proximal explanations for the weight gap, namely differences in diet and exercise. More specifically, we decompose black-white differences in body mass index and waist-to-height ratio into components reflecting black-white differences in energy intake and energy expenditure. The analysis indicates that over consumption is much more important than a lack of exercise in explaining the weight gap, which suggests that diet interventions will have to play a fundamental role if the weight gap between black and white women is to decline.

Understanding Permanent Black-White Earnings Inequality

For more than 30 years, the ratio of average black earnings to average white earnings has remained close to 0.6. Additionally, US cities have remained dramatically segregated by race. This paper provides a joint theory of pre-market skills and residential segregation for quantitatively studying these phenomena. It is established that the magnitude of racial and earnings sorting observed in US cities implies 70 percent of observed black-white inequality. While the mechanism posed is intricate, all of its three non-standard components are essential for permanent black-white inequality to arise in a steady state: neighborhood human capital externalities, house price differences across neighborhoods, and preferences over neighborhood racial composition.

Black-White Inequality in Reading and Math across K-12 Schooling: A Synthetic Cohort Perspective

While much has been written on the racial gap in achievement, few national studies have assessed the gap's trajectory over K-12 schooling. The reason for this is understandable—most national data sets do not contain respondent information for this entire educational period. I utilize survey data from three national data sets containing White and Black students to document the trajectory of reading and math inequality between school entry and the end of high school. An attempt to clarify these observed patterns is made by assessing changes in the score distributions of these students across grade level, and examining how Black score distributions would fare if held to the White score distributions. Findings suggest that efforts to equalize achievement disparities must not only focus on “bringing the bottom up”, but also on keeping the top Black achievers on pace with the top White achievers across grade level.

Religious affiliation and beliefs about racial inequality: White college students’ attitudes about Black-White and Native American-White inequality

Is religious affiliation associated with attitudes about racial inequality? While prior research has explored the relationship between religion and attitudes about Black-White inequality, studies exploring attitudes towards Native Americans are rare. Our study is the first to explore the association between religion and attitudes about Native American-White inequality. We find that religious subcultural differences do exist as Catholics, Protestants, and those with no religious affiliation tend to use different explanations for racial inequality, although the relationship between religious affiliation and attitudes is similar regardless of whether African Americans or Native Americans are the target. We also find that across religious groups there is a greater tendency to use person-centered or individual explanations for Native American-White inequality and structural explanations for Black-White inequality. We argue that consistent findings for the association of religious affiliation and attitudes for different racial groups provide support for the presence of religion specific cultural toolkits.

Racial Segregation, the College Premium, and Black College Attainment: Some Theory and Empirics

Recent research has found that differences in neighborhood segregation explain black-white inequality in education attainment and that these differences matter more than school characteristics. In recent years, neighborhood segregation has persisted at high levels in many metropolitan areas with high black populations and the black white achievement gap has stopped converging. This is somewhat puzzling since, at the same time, research on education supply has found that the college wage premium has increased in recent years providing a greater incentive for blacks to become educated. This paper synthesizes these findings and facts to offer a comprehensive theoretical explanation for the gap in black-white education attainment. I model neighborhood segregation as limiting black education attainment by increasing the discount rate of future returns and discuss research that supports that contention. Then I confirm the broadest prediction of the model by using individual data from IPUMs to predict the effect of segregation on black college attainment conditional on the return to college and other controls. The results are highly significant and imply that the black-white achievement gap is fully explained by residential segregation.

BLACK-WHITE INCOME INEQUALITY AND THE URBAN SYSTEM OF THE SOUTH

This article reveals the positions of 40 SMSAs in the urban system of the South in 1980, and then investigates whether SMSAs' location in this urban system has an impact on black-white income inequality. The urban sysrem analyzed here is based on Richard Wanner's two-dimensional model and ideas on how each dimension is related to racial income inequality are drawn from work by urban ecologists and radical political economists. It is hypothesized that (1) the higher an SMSA is on the “metropolitan functions” dimension, the more black-white income inequality it will have; and (2) being near the manufacturing end of the “industry structure” dimension has the effect of reducing racial income inequality. Percentage black in the SMSA and black-white educational level are also included in the analysis and the results generally support our hypotheses. The implications of these findings are discussed and the southern urban system in 1980 is compared with ealier depictions of it.

Black Under-representation in Management across U.S. Labor Markets

Although many researchers have documented higher levels of black-white inequality in areas with a high concentration of blacks, the mechanisms underlying this finding have been elusive. Black underrepresentation in management may be one such mechanism. We ask whether black workers' underrepresentation in managerial jobs is especially pronounced in labor markets with a larger black population. Using a unique, two-level data set that combines a large data set of private sector firms with Census data on local labor markets, the authors' hierarchical logistic models strongly support this hypothesis. Net of establishment and labor market-level controls, the likelihood that an establishment exhibits a significant underrepresentation of blacks in management is substantially increased when it operates in a high-proportion black labor market context.

Black-White Income Inequality and Metropolitan Socioeconomic Structure

ABSTRACT:We draw on leading theories about the structural causes of racial inequality in the US to investigate inter-metropolitan differences in white and black per capita income. The analysis, which is based on a sample of 112 metropolitan areas and uses 1990 census data, examines the influence of spatial, economic, and demographic factors on black-white income inequality. Our results show severe income inequality between blacks and whites in most metropolitan areas, with black per capita income being 55% of white per capita income, on average. We find that racial educational inequality and unemployment differences were the strongest predictors of racially based income inequality. We also find that metropolitan areas that are highly ranked on a business and financial dominance hierarchy have the most interracial income inequality. However, when a metropolitan area has a high level of manufacturing employment vis-a-vis low service employment it has less income inequality. We discuss the implications of these and other findings for theories about, and public policy regarding, urban inequality.

Long Run Wealth Inequality

One approach to analyzing inequality is to compare average economic choices from a classical theoretical framework. Another approach considers the impact of the formation of society, through statutes and institutions, on average economic outcomes. This dissertation studies the effects of slavery on black-white wealth inequality upon the emancipation of slaves in the US using historical, crosssectional data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Samples (IPUMS). Foremost, a theory of relative wealth is presented, where wealth is determined by group-specific wages, hours of work, consumption, and interest rates. Historical black-white differences in wealth were estimated using regression decomposition. This technique decomposes economic differences into the portion explained by differences in characteristics and the unexplained portion due to different returns to a set of characteristics (See, e.g., Blinder 1973 and Oaxaca 1973). Results confirm that we cannot reject that the claim that, when comparing the wealth of ex-slaves to the wealth whites, differences in wealth due to unexplained (or discrimination) effects dominate the portion due to classical characteristic differences. Furthermore, the size and source of contemporary black-white wealth differences have historical roots: In 1870, at least 75 percent of white-black wealth differences were not explained by characteristic differences described by the classical model when employing the primary index. This is consistent with wealth decompositions of late twentieth century data that shows that three-quarters of white-black differences in wealth were unexplained (See, e.g., Blau and Graham 1990). Finally, since unexplained differences in states that abolished slavery after the CivilWar were 10 percent higher than unexplained effects in states that abolished slavery well before the CivilWar and the magnitudes of the unexplained effects were similar over the long-run, we cannot reject the existence of a negatively bounded correlation between the duration of time from enslavement and the magnitude of unexplained differences in wealth.

Race, Ethnicity, and Underemployment in Nonmetropolitan America: A 30‐Year Profile*

Abstract Historically, rural racial and ethnic minorities have been among the most economically disadvantaged groups in the United States. Key to understanding economic deprivation is employment hardship, trends in which serve as a benchmark for progress toward racial and ethnic equality. We conceptualize employment hardship as underemployment, which goes beyond unemployment to include discouraged workers, involuntary part‐time workers, and the working poor. Analyzing data from the March Current Population Surveys of 1968 through 1998, we find that (1) there are large and persistent racial and ethnic inequalities in underemployment prevalence; (2) these disadvantages are explained only partially by other predictors of underemployment; (3) nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) minorities are more likely than either all metropolitan (metro) or central‐city minorities to be underemployed; (4) black‐white inequality has held steady overall, though it has declined markedly in nonmetro areas; and (5) Hispanic‐white inequality has increased; this trend, however, is restricted to metro areas, central cities in particular.

Black-White inequalities in mortality and life expectancy, 1933–1999: Implications for Healthy People 2010

SYNOPSIS Objectives. Optimistic predictions for the Healthy People 2010 goals of eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in health have been made based on absolute improvements in life expectancy and mortality. This study sought to determine whether there is evidence of relative improvement (a more valid measure of inequality) in life expectancy and mortality, and whether such improvement, if demonstrated, predicts future success in eliminating disparities. Methods. Historical data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau were used to predict future trends in relative mortality and life expectancy, employing an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model. Excess mortality and time lags in mortality and life expectancy for blacks relative to whites were also estimated. Results. Based on data for 1945 to 1999, forecasts for relative black:white age-adjusted, all-cause mortality and white:black life expectancy at birth showed trends toward increasing disparities. From 1979, when the Healthy People initiative began, to 1998, the black:white ratio of age-adjusted, gender-specific mortality increased for all but one of nine causes of death that accounted for 83.4% of all US mortality in 1998. From 1980 to 1998, average numbers of excess deaths per day among American blacks relative ot whites increased by 20 %. American blacks experienced 4.3 to 4.5 million premature deaths relative to whites in 1940-1999. Conclusions. The rationale that underlies the optimistic Healthy People 2010 forecasts, that future success can be built on a foundation of pas success, is not supported when relative measures of inequality are used. There has been no sustained decrease in black-white inequalities in age-adjusted mortality or life expectancy at birth at the national level since 1945. Without fundamental changes, most probably related to the ways medical and public health practitioners are trained, evaluated, and compensated for prevention-related activities, as well as further research on translating the findings of prevention studies intoclinical practice, it is likely the simply reducing disparities in access to care and/or medical treatment will be insufficient. Millions of premature deaths will continue to occur among African Americans.

Racial and Ethnic Inequality in Homeownership and Housing Equity

Wealth inequality, particularly in housing, has received increased attention in recent years for its importance to racial and ethnic stratification. Yet, while we know a fair amount about black-white wealth inequality, many questions remain regarding sources of Hispanic asset inequality. This article addresses this gap by examining racial and ethnic inequality in homeownership and housing equity among the pre-retirement population. Results support a stratification perspective of inequality for both blacks and Hispanics; even after accounting for numerous life-cycle, resource, and social-psychological considerations, blacks and Hispanics continue to lag significantly behind whites in housing wealth. While Hispanics initially appear better off than blacks with respect to housing, this is largely a function of their more favorable family structure. Important differences between blacks and Hispanics in the main contributors to housing inequality highlight the need to take a more multiethnic perspective on wealth stratification.

Sociological Perspectives on Black-White Inequalities in American Schooling

This article discusses sociological contributions to an understanding of black and white inequality in education over the past several decades. It outlines political, cultural, and ideological perspectives on black-white inequality that are seen as guiding empirical research on access to schooling, educational opportunities in schools, and outcomes of schooling. These perspectives are also related to educational policy decisions aimed at reducing racial inequalities. The extant body of scholarship on schooling provides a solid foundation for sociological research on racial inequality in the 21st century

Incarceration and Racial Inequality in Men's Employment

To estimate employment-population ratios for black and white men with an adjustment for incarceration—a factor overlooked by most research on employment inequality—the authors combine data from surveys of prisons and jails with data from the Current Population Survey. This adjustment significantly reduces estimated employment rates for African Americans, young workers, and young high school dropouts. The authors find that employment among young black male high school dropouts steadily declined between 1982 and 1996 despite periods of very low unemployment in the labor market as a whole. Standard labor force data, which include no incarceration data, understate black-white inequality in employment among young dropouts by about 45%.

Incarceration and Racial Inequality in Men's Employment

To estimate employment-population ratios for black and white men with an adjustment for incarceration - a factor overlooked by most research on employment inequality - the authors combine data from surveys of prisons and jails with data from the Current Population Survey. This adjustment significantly reduces estimated employment rates for African Americans, young workers, and young high school dropouts. The authors find that employment among young black male high school dropouts steadily declined between 1982 and 1996, despite periods of very low unemployment in the labor market as a whole. Standard labor force data, which include no incarceration data, understate black-white inequality in employment among young dropouts by about 45%.

Equal in Christ, but Not in the World: White Conservative Protestants and Explanations of Black-White Inequality

To further understanding of Americans' explanations for racial inequality, and the implications these explanations have for reducing black-white socioeconomic inequality, we explore the role of religion. We argue that the cultural tools of a religious subculture shape the rationale for racial inequality. Examining white conservative Protestants, who comprise nearly 25 percent of white Americans, we identify religious cultural tools we call “accountable freewill individualism,” “anti-structuralism,” and “relationalism.” Based on these, we hypothesize that white conservative Protestants explain inequality in more individualistic and less structural terms than other white Americans. We also expect them to emphasize perceived dysfunctional social relations among African Americans in their explanations. Using the 1996 General Social Survey and qualitative data from 117 in-depth interviews, these hypotheses are clearly supported. Religion, it appears, has an independent effect on explanations of racial inequality. Based on these findings, we suggest that rationales for racial inequality are not mere defenses of socioeconomic privilege, but, more fundamentally, defenses of identity, culture, and worldview.

Equal in Christ, but Not in the World: White Conservative Protestants and Explanations of Black-White Inequality

Equal in Christ, but Not in the World: White Conservative Protestants and Explanations of Black-White Inequality

Black Concentration Effects on Black-White and Gender Inequality: Multilevel Analysis for U.S. Metropolitan Areas

This investigation into effects of metropolitan-area black population proportions on earnings inequality differs from previous studies in two principal ways: It examines black population effects on gender as well as black-white inequality; and it employs a hierarchical linear model for individual and metropolitan area data from the 1990 Census. Principal findings are that greater relative black population size is associated with (1) higher white earnings and lower black earnings for men and women, and (2) reduced gender inequality among black workers. Thus, black-white inequality is higher relative to gender inequality in labor markets with greater black representation, which has important implications for the study of interaction in stratification systems

Black Concentration Effects on Black-White and Gender Inequality: Multilevel Analysis for U.S. Metropolitan Areas

This investigation into effects of metropolitan-area black population proportions on earnings inequality differs from previous studies in two principal ways: It examines black population effects on gender as well as black-white inequality; and it employs a hierarchical linear model for individual and metropolitan area data from the 1990 Census. Principal findings are that greater relative black population size is associated with (1) higher white earnings and lower black earnings for men and women, and (2) reduced gender inequality among black workers. Thus, black-white inequality is higher relative to gender inequality in labor markets with greater black representation, which has important implications for the study of interaction in stratification systems.

On the Permanence or Impermanence of Black-White Economic Inequality

On the Permanence or Impermanence of Black-White Economic Inequality