Title: The inheritance of black poverty: It’s all about the men
Headings: The inheritance of black poverty: It’s all about the men
The inheritance of black poverty: It’s all about the men
Black men, stuck in poverty: Chetty’s latest
Black and white Americans, on different starting blocks
Almost half of black youths grew up in the bottom quintile
Share of youths ages 14 to 16 with parents in each income quintile
Gender and race gaps in upward mobility
Black men have low earnings mobility
Share of youths from the bottom quintile who remain in the bottom quintile as adults
Black men and women have low family income mobility
Percentage of youths from the bottom quintile who remain in the bottom quintile of family income as adults
Lower marriage rates aren’t hurting black mobility
Simulating marriage does little to improve mobility for black women
Percentage of youths from the bottom quintile who remain in the bottom quintile of simulated family income
Help black men to help black families

Content: One important point here: the relationship between earnings and marriage runs in both directions. Married men tend, other things equal, to earn more: one study of identical twins suggests that being married raises earnings by one-fourth. Married men may feel more responsibility to provide economically for their families, and especially their children. Low marriage rates may therefore have some impact on earnings. It is also clear that the vast inequalities by race cannot be alleviated by upward mobility alone. Black girls are, relatively speaking, more likely to move out of poverty in terms of their own earnings. However, we should keep in mind the sheer number of black children being raised in low-income households in the first place. Closing the race gaps in upward mobility will require wholesale shifts in economic outcomes, perhaps above all for men’s earnings.