Few data points more clearly illustrate how decades of discrimination affected black Americans than the racial wealth gap. Other researchers contend the difference can be found in the types of financial assets held by black and white families. If confirmed, the finding could help lawmakers better understand which policies would be most effective at closing the racial wealth gap. “We find that the income gap is the primary driver behind the wealth gap and that it is large enough to explain the persistent difference in wealth accumulation,” the authors write. “We find that one factor accounts for the racial wealth gap almost entirely by itself: the racial income gap," they wrote.

Source: Washington Post March 14, 2019 13:18 UTC