Inequalities

Tag: race

  • The Asian American Paradox: “Model Minorities” and Outsiders

    Asian Americans are among the fastest growing demographics in the United States, yet they receive little attention in the study of racial inequality. This is especially surprising because Asian Americans occupy a paradoxical position in American society — simultaneously successful and marginal. On average, Asian American educational attainment, income, and wealth is equal to, or…

  • How did Kools become Black, and Marlboros White?

    In 1971, a team of ethnographic researchers conducted focus groups with 24 African American young men in Chicago to explore the men’s sense of identity as well as their hopes and frustrations. The authors concluded that although the African American men strived for social and economic success, they were constantly turned away by racism and…

  • Solving the High School Graduation Puzzle

    Going back at least as far as the landmark 1966 Coleman Report, social scientists and policymakers have debated how much educational achievement gaps reflect the influence of families and social norms on the one hand, and differences in the quality of schools in disadvantaged areas, on the other hand. As Richard Murnane describes in a…

  • Racial fluidity is more common than you might think

    Most social scientists agree that racial differences come not just from biology, but also from changing social realities. In the 20th century, categories of race in the United States were redefined across many dimensions – the children of Italian, Slavic, Irish, and Jewish immigrants came to be seen as “whites”, Hispanics became their own ethnicity…

  • What can doormen teach us about inequality?

    Mixing across social class boundaries is rare in the United States and becoming rarer. In places like New York City, the professional elites often live in well-manicured and exclusive buildings in coveted areas like the Upper East Side, and entry into this world is carefully controlled. Doormen can be found in front of virtually every…

  • Are Fragmented Cities Making us Unhealthy?

    In Chicago there are 1,492 separate local government jurisdictions, including 366 school districts. In Miami there are only 36 jurisdictions, and 2 school districts. The fragmentation of local government has real political consequences: smaller districts can compete for the advantaged by offering tax breaks. More school systems reduce the opportunity to mix students across racial…

  • Social mobility and ethnicity in the UK

    In a guest post, Neil Smith reviews the evidence – including his own – on the links between ethnicity and life chances in the UK, and why this matters for the drive to improve social mobility. In March 2012, we heard that over a half of the UK’s Black youths aged between 16 and 24…

  • After Trayvon: Everyday Discrimination in the Lives of Young Black Men

    The Florida shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen, by a suspicious neighbor has been one of the top stories in the headlines for the last two weeks. It won’t always be. In days or weeks, perhaps, the media will have moved on to another story, but the underlying challenges affecting young black men will continue.…

  • America the Segregated

    Of all the forms of inequality in American society, residential segregation may be the most pernicious. Where you live determines where you go to school, what social networks you can join, what jobs you can access, and whether your voice is likely to be heard in the electoral politics. That is why a new report…

  • Does Income Inequality Cause Poor Health?

    Paul Kelleher caught some flack for a blog post last week in which he approvingly cited a 2003 study by Angus Deaton and Darren Lubotsky (DL) that supposedly refutes the idea that income inequality causes poor health. I was curious. Paul sent me the original paper, a 2009 published critique by Ash and Robinson (AR),…