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  5. Racial Aspects of Economic Disparities
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Racial Aspects of Economic Disparities

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM (CST)

Grand Hyatt, Texas Ballroom Salon E
This session was streamed live.
Hosted By: American Economic Association
  • Chair: Ellora Derenoncourt, Princeton University

Disentangling Sources of Bias: Evidence from Advanced Placement Course Recommendations

Dania Francis
,
University of Massachusetts-Boston
Angela C. M. de Oliveira
,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Carey Dimmitt
,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Abstract

We seek to understand minority and female underrepresentation in advanced STEM courses in high school by investigating whether school counselors exhibit racial or gender bias during the course assignment process. Using an adapted audit study method, we will ask a nationally recruited sample school counselors to evaluate student academic profiles that are identical except for the names on the profiles, which are varied randomly to suggestively represent a chosen race/gender/socioeconomic status combination. The outcomes will be whether a profile is recommended for AP Calculus and how prepared the student is perceived to be on a scale of 0 to 10. We extend the analysis by including three additional experimental conditions to see if any observed bias can be attributed to taste-based discrimination, statistical discrimination, or implicit bias. First, we will ask every participant to take an Implicit Associations Test as a measure of implicit bias. Second, we add additional information to the academic profile in the form of a high school math PSAT score for a random subsample of survey participants. If statistical discrimination is a source of bias, the introduction of additional positive academic information should decrease any evaluation gaps by race or gender on average. Finally, we will include a racial attitudes survey instrument to measure taste-based discrimination. Understanding the underlying sources of racial and gender bias can help stakeholders and policymakers design better solutions to address the bias.

Indigenous Wealth in the Early 20th Century

Donn Feir
,
University of Victoria
Maggie E.C. Jones
,
Emory University
Angela Redish
,
University of British Columbia

Abstract

The standard economic characterization of Native Americans in the post-colonial period
is one of poverty and marginalization. Yet, even a cursory understanding of Native American
economic history suggests that the reality is more nuanced. This paper draws on a variety of
archival data sources from across the twentieth century to describe the wealth distribution
both across Indigenous nations and in comparison to other racial groups within the United
States at several points in time. Measuring the economic wealth of Indian nations faces
multiple challenges on both the conceptual and measurement fronts. Conceptually, significant amounts of wealth were held by tribes rather than by individuals, and furthermore, the
assets of tribes included financial assets (trust funds) that were controlled to a significant
extent by agents of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Measuring wealth is equally challenging as
the enrollment of Indigenous peoples was often incomplete and, for example, state records
that have been used in documenting the history of wealth in the US frequently do not include Indian’s assets. We discuss how these challenges may impact the interpretation of our
results. Overall, this work contributes to a broad literature on racial wealth disparities in
the United States.

The Long-Run Impacts of Racial Terror: Evidence from Historical Lynchings

Francisca Antman
,
University of Colorado-Boulder
Brian Duncan
,
University of Colorado-Denver

Abstract

We investigate the impacts of historical lynchings on Black, Hispanic, and White individuals by merging the longitudinally linked historical U.S. Census records with data on lynchings in the U.S. South. Using variation in lynching incidents across areas over time, we explore the impacts of local exposure to lynchings on household investments in land and education, as well as long-run outcomes such as earnings and occupations of adults by 1940.  This paper contributes to a now robust literature demonstrating the importance of childhood environment for long-run outcomes as well as a growing body of research which links geographical variation in historical lynchings to current racial disparities.

Re-Assessing the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis

David Card
,
University of California-Berkeley
Jesse Rothstein
,
University of California-Berkeley
Moises Yi
,
U.S. Census Bureau

Abstract

We use LEHD data to study the "spatial mismatch" hypothesis -- the idea that
residential segregation and the uneven distribution of jobs limits the employment
opportunities of Black workers. We begin by mapping the residential locations of
white and Black workers in a commuting zone (CZ), and the locations of
employers offering different wage premiums, as estimated from a two-way fixed
effects model with firm and worker effects. We then quantify the gap in access to
“good jobs” -- the relative distance between white and Black workers’ home
locations and the locations of employers offering relatively high pay premiums –
and study the degree to which this gap varies with worker skills. We use CZ-
specific measures of the access gap to assess whether spatial mismatch is a
greater barrier to Black workers' labor market success in more residentially
segregated cities.

Discussant(s)
Kevin Lang
,
Boston University
Dania Francis
,
University of Massachusetts-Boston
Robert Margo
,
Boston University
Ellora Derenoncourt
,
Princeton University
JEL Classifications
  • J1 - Demographic Economics