Parental Wealth and the Black–White Mobility Gap in the U.S.

Abstract

Utilizing longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), this paper examines the relationship between parental wealth and intergenerational income mobility for black and white families. I find that total parental wealth is positively associated with upward mobility for low‐income white families, but is not associated with reduced likelihood of downward mobility for white families from the top half of the income distribution. Conversely, I find that total parental wealth does not have the same positive association for low‐income black families, while home ownership may have negative associations with the likelihood of upward mobility for these families. However, for black families from the top half of the income distribution, home equity is associated with a decreased likelihood of downward mobility, suggesting a heterogeneous relationship between home ownership and mobility for black families.

Intergenerational income mobility and inequality in South Korea

“…In addition, matching the respondents in the survey to tax records or administrative data would provide accurate estimates of the IGEs. Moreover, future research might explore the transmission of wealth between generations, because the mechanisms for transmitting income from parents to children may differ greatly from those for transmitting net worth or estates (Bloome, ; Fox, ).…”

“…In practice, the log of the adult child's income with respect to that of the parents' is commonly used to measure the IGE. To address the effects of the lifetime profile of income for both generations, age and age-squared are included into the right-hand side of the regression equation (Black & Devereux, 2011;Fox, 2016;Mazumder, 2005). The equation can then be described as follows:…”

“…In practice, the log of the adult child's income with respect to that of the parents’ is commonly used to measure the IGE. To address the effects of the lifetime profile of income for both generations, age and age‐squared are included into the right‐hand side of the regression equation (Black & Devereux, ; Fox, ; Mazumder, ). The equation can then be described as follows: …”

The Dynamics of the Racial Wealth Gap

“…However, there may be feedback from wealth to earnings (Fox (2016)). In a companion paper, , we investigate the effect of wealth for neighborhood selection.…”

A case study of teacher and principal perceptions of a school-wide positive behavior intervention and supports framework in an urban elementary school.

“…The staggering inequalities in wealth and income in America as a whole fully exist and are practically mirrored in its education system. A recent research study analyzed changes in wealth holdings between black and white families following the recession in 2009 and found wealth inequality reached its 25-year high in 2009 with the median white family holding 22 times more wealth than the median black family (Fox, 2015). The United States has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any industrialized country and students living in high poverty areas and high minority schools routinely have fewer resources to ensure access to an equitable learning environment (Dolph, 2017;Smeeding, 2001).…”