Full Citation
Title: The Role of Government Transfers in the Black-White Child Poverty Gap
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2022
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Abstract: Extensive progress has been made in the fight against child poverty over the past several decades. 1 However, there has been little headway made in narrowing the Black-White child poverty gap (i.e., the disparity in poverty rates between Black children and White children). 2 In 1970, Black children were more than three times as likely to live in poverty than White children, and, as discussed in this brief, the gap is nearly as large today. 3 The Black-White child poverty gap is often used as a tool to understand racial inequality in the United States, 4 and the size and persistence of the Black-White child poverty gap speaks to how deeply embedded racism is in our socioeconomic system. It also calls us to evaluate the role that social policy plays in closing it. While there is ample research examining the effects of social policies and government transfers on raising incomes of children in poverty and reducing child poverty overall, 5 we focus on how effective these policies are at narrowing the Black-White child poverty gap. Future research is needed to examine the question in the context of the changing policy landscape as the pandemic and recent racial justice protests have brought greater focus on social policies and their impact on racial inequality.
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Authors: Charles, Rebecca; Collyer, Sophie; Wimer, Christopher
Periodical (Full): Poverty & Social Policy Brief
Issue: 3
Volume: 6
Pages: 1-14
Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Poverty and Welfare, Race and Ethnicity
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