Gender and Racial Gaps in Support for Policing and Correctional Reforms: Are the Gaps a Consequence of Political Partisanship?

Divisive criminal justice issues are typically framed through gender and racial lenses, with little empirical work considering the increasing role of political partisanship. Using the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study ( N = 55,000), we estimate multivariate models of support for four policing and correctional reforms. The models initially point to gender gaps and racial gaps. However, as with many public policy issues, support for criminal justice reforms are largely a product of political partisanship—the gender and racial gaps are largely a consequence of gender and racial gaps in partisanship and appear to be driven by white Republican men. As legislative bodies continue to be overrepresented with individuals with the same demographic profile, criminal justice reform prospects are limited.

Early-Life Circumstances and Racial Disparities in Cognition among US Older Adults

ImportanceExisting studies concentrate on exploring mid-life to late-life risk factors on racial disparities in cognition. Given the critical role of neurocognitive development in early life, understanding contributions of early-life circumstances has important implications for early-stage interventions.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between early-life circumstances and racial disparities in cognition, and to determine their overall and respective contributions.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsWe assembled three analytic samples from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (1995-2018), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Americans 50 years or older. 17,092 participants, with 13,907 identifying as non-Hispanic White (White) and 3,185 as non-Hispanic Black (Black), were included in the Core sample. The Trauma and PGS samples respectively included 6,533 participants (5,696 White, 837 Black) and 5,532 participants (4,893 White, 639 Black).Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcomes were cognitive score and cognitive impairment, as assessed by the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). We used the Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition (BOD) to evaluate disparities in cognitive outcomes between White and Black participants attributable to differences in early-life circumstances.ResultsAmong all White and Black participants at initial survey, their respective average age were 58.1 (95% CI, 58.0-58.3) years and 55.8 (95% CI, 55.5-56.0) years; their respective average cognitive score were 17.3 (95% CI, 17.2-17.3) points and 14.6 (95% CI, 14.4-14.7) points; and their respective proportion with cognitive impairment were 7.2 (95% CI, 6.8-7.6) percentage points (pp) and 22.9 (95% CI, 21.5-24.4) pp. Across three analytic samples, overall differences in early-life circumstances respectively explained 23.5%–40.4% and 33.8%–65.3% of the racial gaps in cognitive score and proportion of cognitive impairment between White and Black participants. Difference in educational attainment contributed the most. In the Trauma sample, for example, years of education explained 3.1 (95% CI, 1.9-4.3) pp or 18.6% of the racial gap in proportion of cognitive impairment using the baseline assessment, and 3.3 (95% CI, 2.0-4.5) pp or 26.9% using the latest assessment. Additional early-life contributors included educational environments (e.g., ownership of books, parental education, time spent with mothers) and socioeconomic status (e.g., financial difficulty). However, childhood trauma and selected genetic factors were not significant contributors.Conclusions and RelevanceLess favorable early-life circumstances are associated with clinically meaningful and statistically significant racial gaps in cognition.Key PointsQuestionsHow much do differences in early-life circumstances explain late-life disparities in cognitive outcomes between non-Hispanic Black (Black) and non-Hispanic White (White) older adults? What are the key early-life contributors to these racial disparities?FindingsEarly-life circumstances contribute substantially to racial disparities in cognitive outcomes over age 50. Educational attainment and early-life educational environment are the most important contributors, even after accounting for a rich set of other early-life socioeconomic, demographic, health, traumatic, and genetic factors.MeaningExposure to less favorable early-life circumstances for Black than White adults was associated with large racial gaps in cognitive outcomes.

The Economics of Education in South Africa

South Africa has made significant progress in raising education levels and reducing racial and gender gaps in education. Significant challenges remain, however, and progress in many dimensions has been disappointing. There continue to be substantial racial gaps in educational attainment, especially in the proportions completing secondary school and earning post-secondary qualifications. Although most learners attend nationally funded public schools, large differences persist in the quality of schools. These differences are reflected in large racial and socio-economic differences in test scores and low rankings in international comparisons. Education is strongly related to employment and earnings, with some of the steepest income-education gradients in the world. Returns to post-secondary education have increased, while there has been limited progress in access to post-secondary education. The combination of highly unequal education combined with strong effects of schooling on earnings and employment create a cycle in which inequality is transmitted across generations.

Malaria, Race, and Inequality: Evidence from the Early 1900s U.S. South

This study investigates the impact of malaria eradication programs on Black-white economic disparities in the early 1900s U.S. South. Malaria eradication was widespread and improved health across races. Yet, only white men experienced economic benefits. Using matched census records, we find that increased exposure to the program was associated with higher schooling attainment and income for whites but not for Blacks. Blacks exposed to malaria eradication were more likely to be farm laborers, and both Blacks and whites were more likely to migrate out of state. Our findings suggest that malaria eradication, a broadly applied intervention, widened racial gaps.

Life expectancy in adulthood is falling for those without a BA degree, but as educational gaps have widened, racial gaps have narrowed

A 4-y college degree is increasingly the key to good jobs and, ultimately, to good lives in an ever-more meritocratic and unequal society. The bachelor’s degree (BA) is increasingly dividing Americans; the one-third with a BA or more live longer and more prosperous lives, while the two-thirds without face rising mortality and declining prospects. We construct a time series, from 1990 to 2018, of a summary of each year’s mortality rates and expected years lived from 25 to 75 at the fixed mortality rates of that year. Our measure excludes those over 75 who have done relatively well over the last three decades and focuses on the years when deaths rose rapidly through drug overdoses, suicides, and alcoholic liver disease and when the decline in mortality from cardiovascular disease slowed and reversed. The BA/no-BA gap in our measure widened steadily from 1990 to 2018. Beyond 2010, as those with a BA continued to see increases in our period measure of expected life, those without saw declines. This is true for the population as a whole, for men and for women, and for Black and White people. In contrast to growing education gaps, gaps between Black and White people diminished but did not vanish. By 2018, intraracial college divides were larger than interracial divides conditional on college; by our measure, those with a college diploma are more alike one another irrespective of race than they are like those of the same race who do not have a BA.

College Acceleration for All? Mapping Racial Gaps in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Participation

This article documents the patterns of White-Black and White-Hispanic enrollment gaps in Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE) programs across thousands of school districts in the United States by merging several data sources. We show that the vast majority of districts have racial enrollment gaps in both programs, with wider gaps in AP than DE. Results from fractional regression models indicate that geographic variations in these gaps can be explained by both local and state factors. We also find that district-level resources and state policies that provide greater access to AP and DE are also associated with wider racial enrollment gaps, implying that greater resources may engender racial disparity without adequate efforts to provide equitable access and support for minority students.

Racial Diversity and Measuring Merit: Evidence from Boston's Exam School Admissions

The impact of admissions process design on the racial diversity of schools and colleges has sparked heated debates. We study the pipeline into Boston's three public exam schools to understand racial gaps in enrollment. Admission to these schools has historically been based on a combination of GPA and a score on an optional test from a private developer. We document racial gaps in test-taking rates, test scores, GPAs, preferences for the most selective school, and ultimate admission rates to all three schools. These gaps persist even among students with similarly high baseline achievement as measured by the state's mandatory standardized test. Substantial numbers of high-achieving Black and Hispanic students do not apply to the exam schools and to the most selective school in particular. The choice of standardized test used to measure academic merit strongly affects who is admitted.

On Track or Derailed? Race, Advanced Math, and the Transition to High School

Recent scholarship has examined how accelerated math trajectories leading to calculus take shape during middle school. The focus of this study is on advanced math course taking during the critical yet understudied period that follows: the transition to high school. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 are used to examine advanced math course taking in ninth grade, including both track persistence among students who took advanced math in middle school and upward mobility among students who took standard math in middle school. Results reveal sizable racial gaps in the likelihood of staying on (and getting on) the accelerated math track, neither of which are fully explained by prior academic performance factors. Interactions with parents and teachers positively predict advanced math course taking. In some cases, interactions with teachers may also reduce inequality in track persistence, whereas interactions with counselors increase such inequality. Implications for research and policy are discussed.