Citation
Mangino, William (2019). Income returns in early career: Why whites have less need for education.
Race and Social Problems. vol. 11 (1) pp. 45-59
Abstract
This paper tests an explanation of the “net black advantage,” a widespread but under-theorized finding that shows among people with similar socioeconomic status, black Americans achieve higher levels of education than whites. The proposed theory hypothesizes that blacks’ superior net investment is a response to disadvantage in the labor market; simply, whites have less need for education. The hypothesis is tested using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, when respondents were approximately 29 years old. Results show that among equally qualified individuals: (1) at equal levels of income, black workers have more education than whites (or equivalently, at equal levels of education, whites have higher income); (2) black Americans have a steeper rate of return to educational investment, thus at “some graduate school” or more, there is parity in wages; and (3) non-net rates show that 90% of black respondents have levels of education that are associated with white income advantage, even among equally qualified people.
URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-018-9233-5Reference Type
Journal Article
Journal Title
Race and Social Problems
Author(s)
Mangino, William
Year Published
2019
Volume Number
11
Issue Number
1
Pages
45-59
Edition
June 20, 2018
ISSN/ISBN
1867-1756
DOI
10.1007/s12552-018-9233-5
Reference ID
7384
