Citation
Addo, Fenaba R. & Darity, William A., Jr. (2021). Disparate Recoveries: Wealth, Race, and the Working Class after the Great Recession. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 695(1), 173-192.Abstract
What does it mean to be working class in a society of extreme racial wealth inequality? Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, we investigate the wealth holdings of Black, Latinx, and white working-class households during the post–Great Recession (pre–COVID-19) period that spanned 2010 to 2019. We then explore the relationship between working-class and middle-class attainment using a wealth-based metric. We find that, in terms of their net worth, fewer Black working-class households benefitted from the economic recovery than white working-class households. Among white households, the working class saw the greatest increase in wealth in both absolute and relative terms. Working-class households were less likely to be middle class as defined by their wealth holdings, and Black and Latinx households were also less likely to be middle class. For Black households, racial identity is a stronger predictor of wealth attainment than occupational sector.URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00027162211028822Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2021Journal Title
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social ScienceAuthor(s)
Addo, Fenaba R.Darity, William A., Jr.
Article Type
RegularData Set/Study
Survey of Consumer FinancesContinent/Country
United States of AmericaState
NonspecificRace/Ethnicity
BlackHispanic/Latinx