African Americans

According to the federal government, elderly poverty rates among blacks are nearly triple and among Hispanics are more than double those of whites. Data from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study on adults age 65 and older, living alone or with only a spouse, show how assets, which are excluded from the official poverty measure, change elderly poverty overall and between racial/ethnic groups. Adding imputed housing rent and annuitized asset values to resources reduced overall poverty by 1.8 percentage points,… more

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Homeownership is an integral part of the American dream. Since the 1930s, when the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established, the federal government has played an active role in helping the American populace achieve this aspect of the dream. As with many aspects of the American dream, however, the vision that is realized by blacks or African Americans differs from that achieved by other Americans. In particular, the gap between homeownership rates among white households and African American households (of… more

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Immigrant entrepreneurs have emerged as key engines of growth for cities from New York to Los Angeles—and with a little planning and support, they could provide an even bigger economic boost in the future

Using data from multiple sources, including the Characteristics of Business Owners Survey, the authors trace out the relationship between wealth and access to financial capital and the African American—owned business. African Americans are found to have levels of wealth that are one-eleventh those of whites. Starting with this disparity, blacks are much less likely to start businesses than are whites, which results in a substantially lower rate of business ownership. Even for those black entrepreneurs who are successful in starting… more