Fenaba R. Addo|Jason N. Houle|Dániel Simon
Young, Black, and (Still) in the Red: Parental Wealth, Race, and Student Loan Debt
University of Wisconsin–Madison|Dartmouth College|University of Colorado Boulder
taking student loans assist costs postsecondary schooling us become norm recent decades debt burden young adults acquire higher education process however increasingly stratified black young adults holding greater debt burden whites using data nlsy 1997 cohort examine racial differences student loan debt acquisition parental net wealth predictor contributing growing divide four main results first confirming prior research black young adults substantially debt white counterparts second find difference partially explained differences wealth family background postsecondary educational differences family contributions college third young adults net worth explain portion blackwhite disparity debt suggesting differences accumulation debt ability repay debt young adulthood explain racial disparities debt fourth blackwhite disparity debt greatest highest levels parents net worth findings show social economic experiences help explain racial disparities debt situation precarious black youth protected parents wealth suggests increasing costs higher education corresponding rise student loan debt creating new form stratification recent cohorts young adults student loan debt may new mechanism racial economic disparities inherited across generations