Why Has Black-White Skill Convergence Stopped?

Derek Neal

No 11090, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: All data sources indicate that black-white skill gaps diminished over most of the 20th century, but black-white skill gaps as measured by test scores among youth and educational attainment among young adults have remained constant or increased in absolute value since the late 1980s. I examine the potential importance of discrimination against skilled black workers, changes in black family structures, changes in black household incomes, black-white differences in parenting norms, and education policy as factors that may contribute to the recent stability of black-white skill gaps. Absent changes in public policy or the economy that facilitate investment in black children, best case scenarios suggest that even approximate black-white skill parity is not possible before 2050, and equally plausible scenarios imply that the black-white skill gap will remain quite significant throughout the 21st century.

JEL-codes: J0 J1 J7 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-01
Note: ED LS
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

Published as “Why Has Black-White Skill Convergence Stopped?” Handbook of Economics of Education, edited by Eric Hanushek and Finis Welch, Elsiver. 2006

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Chapter: Why Has Black-White Skill Convergence Stopped? (2006)
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