Personal Wealth

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To Help African Americans Gain Generational Wealth, Look to the Housing Market

African American families have significantly less wealth than White families, even after reaching the middle class. Home ownership is, for the vast majority of Americans, the primary vehicle for accruing wealth, and passing it down through generations. This is a crucial time for policymakers to consider policies that focus on improving home ownership rates for African Americans.

Jessica Welburn Paige

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A Tale of Two Americas

Economic pain in the United States is obvious and palpable everywhere except in the stock market. This spotlights inequality that has been increasing for decades. Undoing disparities will require firm policy commitment over many years.

Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

blog

Shutdown, Hezbollah, Border Wall: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Americans' financial fragility, Hezbollah in Venezuela, assessing the effectiveness of a border wall, and more.

commentary

What the Shutdown Revealed About the Fragility of American Life

The government shutdown highlighted the lack of resilience many suffer from when they encounter unexpected economic events. The median American family has been losing ground for decades. Policy responses to address this situation will be complex and difficult, but are much needed.

Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_

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Trends in Inequality and the World's Eight Richest Men

While Oxfam reports have done a good job of bringing attention to the problem of inequality, they may lead the public and policymakers to believe that global inequality has been rising instead of falling. Global inequality has actually been on the decline while inequality within the developed world is increasing.

Ernesto F. L. Amaral, Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice

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Book Review: 'Bourgeois Equality'

In Bourgeois Equality, economist and historian Deirdre McCloskey advances the theory that ideas — not capital, institutions, innovation, R&D, tax policy, monetary policy, or regulatory policy — are the propelling force behind economic and societal growth.

Charles Wolf, Jr.

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You're Never Too Young to Plan for Retirement

Saving early for retirement is critical, but it's also important to stay on track during job changes. Younger workers tend to change jobs often, and if they cash out of their plans with each position, that can affect their long-term savings.

Jeremy Burke, Angela A. Hung

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Fixing Inequality of Opportunity

Research has fueled concerns about how income inequality drives inequality of opportunity. Commonsense approaches such as improvements in education and access to quality health care have been shown to provide young people with better opportunities.

Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice

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Zero Interest, Greater Inequality?

Low interest rates mandated by the Federal Reserve may have had and possibly continue to have adverse effects on income inequality. Those who argue for continuing near-zero short-term interest rate policy should be cognizant of this.

Charles Wolf, Jr.

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Do Young 'Elites' Favor Income Redistribution?

Young 'elites' -- employed Americans who are 40 or younger, with high household incomes and graduate degrees -- and especially Democratic elites have a strong preference for income redistribution.

Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard, Katherine Grace Carman

commentary

Growth Versus Equality: Striking the Right Balance

There's a difficult trade-off between income equality and the growth that comes from successful innovation. But one doesn't have to overwhelm the other.

Charles Wolf, Jr.

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New Survey Data Indicates Increasing Polarization in the Ways Democrats and Republicans View the Role of Government in Reducing Income Inequality

Today, Democrats are more than six times likelier than Republicans to believe the U.S. government should play a role in reducing income inequality. This is not due to differences in age, gender, education, or income distributions among the two parties.

Katherine Grace Carman, Michael S. Pollard @MichaelSPollard