Racial Inequality in Macroeconomic Contexts
Paper Session
Friday, Jan. 7, 2022 3:45 PM - 5:45 PM (EST)
- Chair: Jamein Cunningham, Cornell University
The Impact of ACA Medicaid Expansion on Racial Disparities in Economic Well-Being
Abstract
This paper analyzes how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion affected racial disparities in economic well-being. The ACA Medicaid expansion, which was implemented in 2014, increased access to public insurance coverage among individuals with low income. While theoretically ambiguous, it is likely that increased public insurance coverage improves labor market conditions and financial wellbeing of low-income workers, particularly those of disadvantaged groups. We devote particular focus on racial heterogeneity of the policy and test for effects of Medicaid expansion on racial disparities across a variety of outcomes. We use data from the American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey and estimate difference-in-differences and triple difference models to test for baseline policy effects as well as differences across race. Findings in this area can aid policymakers to better understand the role that public policy can play in decreasing racial disparities in important outcomes of economic well-being.How do Federal Dollars Spent Impact Returns to Primary and Secondary Education?
Abstract
This study examines the impact of federal dollars spent on education. Using National Income andProduct Accounts education spending data and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data
demographic college enrollment indicators from 2000-2017, this research will employ an event –
study, panel Vector – Auto regression to determine the recursive impact of federal education
spending on college enrollment. Specific aims in this project involve analyses demarcated by
advantages resulting from race and gender. Further, this study analyzes the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, and Common Core State Standards as random shocks to federal
spending to see whether policy or state standard have been helpful in aiding educational
disparities. Findings indicate decentralized policies or standards must necessarily be aligned with
centralized policy in order to be effective in the U.S.; moreover, there is work to be done to help
improve outcomes for all demographic groups.
The Racial Wealth Gap and the Role of Firm Ownership
Abstract
This paper develops an overlapping generations model that isolates the impact of the U.S. racial wealth gap in 1962 on the long-run dynamics of wealth. The model predicts that one component of the initial gap, firm ownership, coupled with the intergenerational transfer of that ownership, results in a permanent gap in overall wealth independent of other dimensions of inequality. This implies that even if all discrimination against black Americans had ceased upon the end of Jim Crow, the wealth gap would have persisted without a reparations policy addressing the fact that the initial firm ownership gap arose in the first place. As such, reparations to the descendants of slaves and Jim Crow era policies are essential to closing the racial wealth gap. The model also predicts that a reparations program will only be effective if it targets the distribution of firm ownership in the economy.Why Do Blacks Suffer More in Recessions and Benefit More in Expansions?
Abstract
A well-established fact is that Blacks (and other historically disadvantaged groups) are disproportionately affected by recessions. However, the reasons for this are not well understood. The goal of this paper is to measure the high sensitivity of Black unemployment to macro conditions using a unified time series (error correction) framework. We also explore the possible role of occupational mix in contributing to Black workers high employment “beta”. We find that Black (un)employment is much more cyclical than White, which explains why the racial “gap” widens during recessions and narrows during expansions. Moreover, the “catchup” is especially rapid during high-pressure labor markets, and the excess cyclicality of Black unemployment can not be explained by occupational stratification.Discussant(s)
Dania V. Francis
,
University of Massachusetts-Boston
Ejindu Ume
,
Miami University
Carycruz Bueno
,
Brown University
Edouard Wemy
,
Clark University
Shamar Stewart
,
Virginia Tech
JEL Classifications
- E0 - General
- E6 - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook