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Resource Category: Studies of Wealth Inequity

There has been much research activity in the past regarding disparities in income, educational attainment, career progression, etc. disaggregated by race, but studies of wealth as a measure of net household assets are comparatively rare. The pieces in this category represent some of the best new research on wealth with a racial equity lens.

Resource Summaries

Summary September 2022

Trends in the Distribution of Family Wealth, 1989-2019

This report from the Congressional Budget Office uses Survey of Consumer Finances data to explore changes in distribution of family wealth between 1989 to 2019 and is helpful for understanding the wealth gap from a variety of angles including income, education level, race and ethnicity, and age. The report also breaks down wealth by specific assets and debt levels.

This report from the Congressional Budget Office uses Survey of Consumer Finances data to explore changes in distribution of family wealth between 1989 to 2019 and is helpful for understanding the wealth gap from a variety of angles including income, education level, race and ethnicity, and age. The report also breaks down wealth by specific assets and debt levels.

This report offers a lot that’s worth digging into, but a few key takeaways include:

  • From 1989 to 2019, total family wealth increased substantially — but that wealth became less equally distributed over the 30-year period. Families in the top half of the wealth distribution (especially the top 10% and 1%) enjoyed greater increases in wealth than families in the bottom half. For example, between 1989 to 2019 total share of wealth of families in the top 10% of the wealth distribution increased from 63% to 72% respectively, meanwhile total share of wealth decreased from 4% to 2% for families in the bottom half of the distribution.
  • Part of the wealth disparity between families at different points on the wealth distribution spectrum can be explained by the types of assets making up families’ wealth. While families in the bottom half of the distribution were more likely to hold their wealth in home equity, families in the top half were more likely to hold their wealth in defined contribution and non-retirement financial assets, which were also asset types whose real value increased substantially more during the 30-year period.
  • Overall median family wealth varied by racial and ethnic groups over the 30-year period. However, wealth of white families remained significantly greater than wealth of any other race and ethnicity throughout the timeframe. Notably, the median wealth of Hispanic families and Black families increased more overall than median wealth of White families and Asian and other families during the 30-year period. However, by 2019 White families and Asian and other families still had higher median wealth than Black and Hispanic families because Black and Hispanic families started with so little wealth to begin with.
Summary July 2022

The Geographic Distribution of Extreme Wealth in the U.S.

By Carl Davis, Emma Sifre, Spandan Marasini

This report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analyzes data from Survey of Consumer Finances to look at the distribution of extreme wealth by states, looking both at overall levels of wealth and the portion of wealth held in unrealized capital gains.

This report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analyzes data from Survey of Consumer Finances to look at the distribution of extreme wealth by states, looking both at overall levels of wealth and the portion of wealth held in unrealized capital gains.

The researchers find that extreme wealth is highly concentrated in Massachusetts and that the Northeast, more broadly, has the highest concentration of any region in the U.S. Their analysis finds that nationally thirty percent of wealth is held by a small fraction (0.25%) of households whose wealth totals over $30 million. When breaking the data down by race, they find that among families with net worth over $30 million, 92% of total wealth is held by white families.

This type of extreme wealth is often held in unrealized capital gains, which is income made on investments that is largely sheltered from taxation under current tax policy. Income from wealth has long been taxed more lightly than income from work — meaning ultra-wealthy families pay less in taxes and can build substantial wealth from their existing assets. This report points to tax policy as an important lever for reducing extreme wealth and economic inequality. The authors explore options for changing state and federal tax codes to increase taxation on extreme wealth as a strategy to reduce the wealth gap and to increase revenue for public services.

Summary June 2020

The Racial Wealth Gap Is About the Upper Classes

By Matt Bruenig

This opinion piece in Jacobin magazine argues that the focus on median wealth in racial wealth gap analyses, rather than on mean (or average) wealth, misses the important fact that the vast majority of national wealth is concentrated at the very top of the distribution. Efforts to close the racial wealth gap at the median would help advance racial equity to some degree, as simulations of SCF data in the piece demonstrate, but they would leave in place huge inequality between the largely white top end of the wealth distribution and the multiracial lower and working classes. The piece ends by arguing that advocates should instead push for broader redistributive efforts that would ultimately tackle both racial and class inequality simultaneously.

This opinion piece in Jacobin magazine argues that the focus on median wealth in racial wealth gap analyses, rather than on mean (or average) wealth, misses the important fact that the vast majority of national wealth is concentrated at the very top of the distribution. Efforts to close the racial wealth gap at the median would help advance racial equity to some degree, as simulations of SCF data in the piece demonstrate, but they would leave in place huge inequality between the largely white top end of the wealth distribution and the multiracial lower and working classes. The piece ends by arguing that advocates should instead push for broader redistributive efforts that would ultimately tackle both racial and class inequality simultaneously.

More On This Topic

Article 2023

Greater Wealth, Greater Uncertainty: Changes in Racial Inequality in the Survey of Consumer Finances

By Aditya Aladangady, Andrew C. Chang, and Jacob Krimmel, with Eva Ma

ReadGreater Wealth, Greater Uncertainty: Changes in Racial Inequality in the Survey of Consumer Finances on Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Report 2023

Understanding Latino wealth to address disparities and design better policies

By Tonantzin Carmona

ReadUnderstanding Latino wealth to address disparities and design better policies on Brookings
Report 2023

The Importance of Wealth to Family Well-Being: Seeding Innovation to Address the Structural Roots of Inequality

By Alexis Mann, Sara Chaganti

ReadThe Importance of Wealth to Family Well-Being: Seeding Innovation to Address the Structural Roots of Inequality on John T. Gorman Foundation, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Article 2022

Data from a Native CDFI yield new insights on wealth gap in Indian Country

By D.L. Feir, Elijah Moreno, Lakota Vogel

ReadData from a Native CDFI yield new insights on wealth gap in Indian Country on Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank
Report 2022

Stuck on the Ladder: Intragenerational wealth mobility in the United States

ReadStuck on the Ladder: Intragenerational wealth mobility in the United States on Brookings
Research Paper 2022

Racial Wealth Disparities: Reconsidering the Roles of Human Capital and Inheritance

By Boston Fed, Jeffrey Thompson, John Sabelhaus

ReadRacial Wealth Disparities: Reconsidering the Roles of Human Capital and Inheritance on Boston Fed
Research Paper 2022

Wealth of Two Nations: The U.S. Racial Wealth Gap, 1860-2020

By Ellora Derenoncourt, Chi Hyun Kim, Moritz Kuhn & Moritz Schularick

ReadWealth of Two Nations: The U.S. Racial Wealth Gap, 1860-2020 on UC Berkeley, DIW Berlin, University of Bonn
Report 2020

Disparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances

By Neil Bhutta, Andrew C. Change, Lisa J. Dettling

ReadDisparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances on Board of Governors of the Federal Researve System
Video 2020

Explained | Racial Wealth Gap

ReadExplained | Racial Wealth Gap on Vox, Netlfix
Report 2019

The economic impact of closing the racial wealth gap

ReadThe economic impact of closing the racial wealth gap on McKinsey & Company
Book 2019

The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap

By Mehrsa Baradan

ReadThe Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap on Harvard University Press
Report 2018

Systematic Inequality: How America’s Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap

By Angela Hanks, Danyelle Solomon, Christian E. Wellter

ReadSystematic Inequality: How America’s Structural Racism Helped Create the Black-White Wealth Gap on Center for American Progress
Report 2018

Income and Wealth Inequality in America, 1949-2016

By Moritz Kuhn, Moritz Schularick, Ulrike I. Steins

ReadIncome and Wealth Inequality in America, 1949-2016 on Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, University of Bonn
Report 2016

Wealth Inequalities in Greater Boston: Do Race and Ethnicity Matter?

By Tatjana Meschede, Darrick Hamilton, Ana Patricia Munoz, Regine O. Jackson, William A Darity Jr

ReadWealth Inequalities in Greater Boston: Do Race and Ethnicity Matter? on Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Report 2015

Reducing Racial Wealth Inequalities in Greater Boston: Building a Shared Agenda

By David Bryant, Ginger Haggerty, Cynthia Parker, Mimi Turchinetz, and Ester Schlorholtz

ReadReducing Racial Wealth Inequalities in Greater Boston: Building a Shared Agenda on Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Report 2015

The Color of Wealth in Boston

By Ana Patricia Muñoz , Marlene Kim, Mariko Chang, Regine O. Jackson, Darrick Hamilton, and William A. Darity Jr.

ReadThe Color of Wealth in Boston on The Color of Wealth in Boston, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (A Joint Publication with Duke University and The New School)
Report 2015

Bootstraps Are For Black Kids: Race, Wealth and the Impact of Intergenerational Transfers on Adult Outcomes

By Dr. Yunju Nam, Dr. Darrick Hamilton, Dr. William A. Darrity, Jr., Anne E. Price

ReadBootstraps Are For Black Kids: Race, Wealth and the Impact of Intergenerational Transfers on Adult Outcomes on National Asset Scorecard for Communities of Color, Insight Center for Community Economic Development
Report 2015

The Racial Wealth Gap: Why Policy Matters

By Laura Sullivan Tatjana Meschede, Lars Dietrich, Thomas Shapiro (IASP), Amy Traugh, Catherine Ruetchslin, Tamara Draut, (Demos)

ReadThe Racial Wealth Gap: Why Policy Matters on Demos, Institute for Assets and Social Policy, Brandeis University
Report 2013

Less Than Equal, Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation

By Signe-Mary McKernan, Caroline Ratcliffe, Eugene Steverle, Sisi Zhang

ReadLess Than Equal, Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation on Urban
Report 2013

The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black and White Income Divide

By Thomas Shapiro, Tatjana Meschede, Sam Osoro

ReadThe Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap: Explaining the Black and White Income Divide on Institute for Economic and Racial Equity, neé IASP
Report 2012

Do Financial Support and Inheritance Contribute to the Racial Wealth Gap

By Signe-Mary McKernan, Caroline Ratcliffe, Margaret Simms, Sisi Zhang

ReadDo Financial Support and Inheritance Contribute to the Racial Wealth Gap on Urban
Book 1995

Black Wealth/ White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality

By Tom Shapiro, Oliver L Melvin

ReadBlack Wealth/ White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality on Amazon