Principal Investigator, William (Sandy) Darity, Jr. Co-principal Investigator, Darrick Hamilton Postdoctoral Associate, Mark Paul Statistician, Khai Zaw The research team is conducting a five-city study of wealth disparities among communities of color in the United States, with an emphasis on African Americans, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans. Researchers began the study by conducting phone interviews in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Tulsa, and Washington, D.C. They collected data on the financial status of households based on the residents’ national origin. For example, instead of obtaining data on the net worth position of Latinos taken collectively, the Network is interested in the net worth position of persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican origin in the cities being surveyed. Now in Phase 3, researchers are conducting 600 face-to-face interviews in ethnically and racially diverse Los Angeles, to gather information about their net worth. National origin subgroups include white non-Hispanics, Cambodians, blacks who are recent African or Caribbean immigrants to the U.S., Mexican Americans, “native” blacks, and Puerto Ricans. The interviews will be conducted by RTI. Phase 3 of the project adds a new element to emphasize race and ethnicity as key units of analysis. Researchers are also analyzing the data from the five cities to obtain information about the respondents’ phenotypes. Prior to the study, little was known about the detailed assets and debts of Asian subgroups, such as Asian Indians, Cambodians, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese. In conjunction with the Center for Global Policy Solutions, the project yielded a major report, “Beyond Broke,” released in May 2014. As a result, some preliminary findings from the study resulted in an opportunity to bring these issues before Congressional leaders. A parallel multi-city wealth study also will be performed targeting communities of color in the United Kingdom. Other major reports from the NASCC study include:
- The Color of Wealth in the Nation’s Capital (December 2016)
- The Color of Wealth in Los Angeles (March 2016)
- The Color of Wealth in Boston (March 2015)
- Umbrellas Don’t Make it Rain: Why Studying and Working Hard Isn’t Enough for Black Americans (April 2015)
- Financial Resources in Kinship and Social Networks: Flow and Relationship to Household Wealth by Race and Ethnicity Among Boston Residents (April 2015)
- Bootstraps Are For Black Kids: Race, Wealth and the Impact of Intergenerational Transfers on Adult Outcomes
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