Racial and economic disparities intertwined, study finds

Racial and economic disparities intertwined, study finds

6 years ago
Anonymous $oIHRkISgaL

https://phys.org/news/2018-10-racial-economic-disparities-intertwined.html

"Despite concerted efforts to close racial gaps, the median African-American today has a family income about 56 percent that of the median white person," says Robert Manduca, a doctoral student in sociology and social policy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. "That ratio hasn't changed much since 1968, when it was 57 percent. So the question is why, 50 years later, when racial gaps in other areas have narrowed, why aren't we seeing a corresponding narrowing for income?"

In a study published in Sociological Science, Manduca argues that a major reason that economic disparities between the races remain so large is rising income inequality nationwide. While African-Americans have moved to higher ranks on the income distribution scale in the decades since the c Movement, those improvements have largely been blunted by rapid income growth for the richest members of society and income stagnation among lower- and middle-class families.