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Racial Wealth Gains and Gaps: Ten Economic Facts About the Disparities

Author

Listed:
  • Kristen Broady

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)

  • Anthony Barr

    (National Bankers Association Foundation)

  • Darlene Booth-Bell

    (Coastal Carolina University)

  • Lucas Cain

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago)

Abstract

Over the three years between the release of the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the survey data released in 2022, household wealth increased for all racial and ethnic groups, but the Black-White wealth gap increased in dollar terms. The 2022 release of the SCF is the first to provide wealth data for Asian American households as a separate group—revealing that they have significantly more wealth than households of other racial and ethnic groups. It is important to understand how racial wealth and income gaps came to be, what factors contribute to their perpetuation, and what policies can be put in place to narrow them. As a part of that big project, we develop ten stylized facts about the racial wealth gap and factors that influence it. While none of the economic facts presented fully explains the racial wealth gap, each fact, along with a history of racism and discrimination, has contributed to extreme wealth inequality in America today.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristen Broady & Anthony Barr & Darlene Booth-Bell & Lucas Cain, 2025. "Racial Wealth Gains and Gaps: Ten Economic Facts About the Disparities," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 40-56, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joerap:v:8:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s41996-024-00154-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s41996-024-00154-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dionissi Aliprantis & Daniel R. Carroll, 2019. "What Is Behind the Persistence of the Racial Wealth Gap?," Economic Commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue February.
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    3. William Rodgers & William Spriggs, 1996. "What does the AFQT really measure: Race, wages, schooling and the AFQT score," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 24(4), pages 13-46, June.
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    5. William A. Darity & Darrick Hamilton, 2017. "The Political Economy of Education, Financial Literacy, and the Racial Wealth Gap," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 99(1), pages 59-76.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Race; Household wealth; Inequality;
    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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