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Black Reparations and Child Well-Being: A Framework and Policy Considerations
Lisa A. Gennetian, Christina Gibson-Davis, William Darity ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5The report proposes a child-centred framework for reparations aimed at the child descendants of enslaved African Americans. It combines human capital economics with bioecological developmental theory to describe how the legacy of slavery and racism harms children. It compiles estimates of racial gaps in children's outcomes and household wealth, reviews existing U.S. reparations initiatives, and draws on a survey of black parents. It also presents simulations of what a government wealth transfer to black children might change.
Key points
- Compared with white peers, black children face more than double the risk of outcomes unfavorable to educational and economic prosperity, from birth through young adulthood.
- Racial wealth differences are larger among households with children than among those without; the child household wealth gap in 2019 was comparable to that 60 years ago.
- Simulations suggest a wealth transfer of about $120,000 per black child in early childhood would cut the black-white high school graduation gap by 13 percentage points and raise college attendance by 26 percentage points.
- Few existing U.S. reparations initiatives include direct financial transfers or other investments specifically for black families or children.
- In a contemporary survey, black parents with young children supported reparations as direct cash payments and other forms of financial assistance.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, so the data sources, simulation assumptions and survey methods cannot be assessed. The transfer effects are simulated, not observed from an actual programme, and the findings apply to the United States only.
Abstract
We offer a child-centric framework for reparations with considerations for policy and implications for child descendants of enslaved African Americans. We apply economic theory of human capital integrated with the theories of bioecological developmental systems to illustrate the multilayered aspects of harm from the legacy of slavery and racism. Our curation of estimates shows that relative to white peers, black children bear more than double the risk in outcomes unfavorable to educational and economic prosperity from birth through young adulthood. We also find that enduring racial wealth differences are larger among households with children than without children, with the child household racial wealth gap in 2019 remaining comparable to that seen 60 years ago. Simulations suggest that a government wealth transfer of approximately $120,000 per black child during early childhood reduces the black-white gap in high school graduation by 13 percentage points and increases college attendance by 26 percentage points. A review of existing U.S. reparations initiatives shows that few include direct financial transfers or other forms of investments specifically for black families or children. Based on a contemporary survey, we find that black parents with young children express support for reparations in the form of direct cash payments as well as other forms of financial assistance.