In 2015, 78 percent of America’s seniors were white while 49 percent of the nation’s youth were people of color—a phenomenon that we call the racial generation gap. If predominantly white seniors choose not to invest in a more racially diverse young population, this could hamstring the development of the next generation and the nation's economic future. This brief examines the growth of the racial generation gap and its effect on per-child k-12 education spending. We find that every percentage-point increase in the racial generation gap is associated with a decrease in state and local per-child education spending of around 1.5 percent. Given this relationship, it is critical to ensure equitable school funding, invest in youth beyond school, and build multi-generational communities and coalitions for change. Download the brief or data.

Media: Future of America's Baby Boomers Depends on Our Diverse Youth (The Hill), America's 'Racial Generation Gap' Is Starting to Shrink (The Atlantic)

The latest brief from the National Equity Atlas team, Race, Place, and Jobs: Reducing Employment Inequality in America’s Metros, analyzes the relationship between racial and spatial inequality in employment across America’s largest 150 metropolitan regions. We find that in several regions with large racial gaps in employment such as Youngstown and Milwaukee, unemployed workers of color tend to live in a small number of neighborhoods. In these places, neighborhood-targeted workforce development and job access strategies have the potential to increase racial equity and reduce disparities at the regional level, building stronger and more inclusive regional economies. 

Media: Race, Place, and Jobs: Reducing Employment Inequality in America’s Metros (Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity)

How much stronger could the economy be if everyone who wanted a job could find one—regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender? This analysis, produced for the Fed Up campaign for Federal Reserve policies that work for communities most left behind by the recovery, estimates the potential economic gains of full employment for all. Find out what the United States economy—and the economies of the 12 metropolitan regions where each Federal Reserve office is located—could look like with true full employment for all.

Media: This is how protesters plan to take on the Federal Reserve (Wonkblog)

October 22, 2014

How much could the economy benefit from racial inclusion? This research brief estimates the economic boost of racial inclusion for the largest 150 regions, all 50 states, and the nation. We found that the national economy stands to grow $2.1 trillion every year from racial equity, and that every region in the country would gain millions per year – from $287 million in Springfield, Missouri (the lowest potential gain) to $510 billion in Los Angeles (the highest). Download the brief, press release, or data.

Describes immediate and decisive action needed by California's leaders to increase fairness and opportunity as the state stands at the cutting edge of the nation's demographic transformation, growing more racially and ethnically diverse.

Puts forward a new vision of America’s future: lifts up the challenges that the nation must address to succeed and highlights continued racial gaps and disparities, reviews current and future demographic shifts, and suggests initial steps toward building an equity-driven growth model based on the innovative work being done in communities across the country.