Parental Investments of Money for White, Black, and Hispanic Children in the United States

Abstract

Recent research has shown wide class gaps in parental investments of money. Although scholars have suggested similar important gaps by race and ethnicity, these have not been as clearly documented, and some suggest that they may be the result of economic differences or family characteristics. Using 16 years of the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the author shows the predicted levels of parental investments for white, Black, and Hispanic families under four conditions: the unadjusted levels, controlling for family characteristics, controlling for family income, and controlling for both family characteristics and income. The visualization shows large gaps between children in white families compared with Black and Hispanic families. Both sociodemographic and economic factors play a substantial role in these differences, and the racial and ethnic gaps in parental investments of money are nearly eliminated when both are accounted for.