This study examines the roles of parents’ financial assistance for college in explaining persistent Black-white wealth disparity across generations. Using the data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study runs Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions to estimate the proportion of the racial wealth disparity explained by parents’ socioeconomic resources and financial assistance for college. Analyses show that racial disparity in net worth would decline significantly if Black people receive parental financial assistance for college at the same rate as their white counterparts. Parental financial assistance is also one of mechanisms through which parental economic resources maintain Black-white wealth disparity across generations. Parental assistance for college explains racial wealth disparity independently from children’s educational attainment and family income: the coefficient of parental assistance is statistically significant when educational attainment and family income are controlled for. Findings call for policy interventions to reduce the impacts of parents’ economic resources on financing college education to promote racial equity.

中文翻译：

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父母对大学的经济援助和黑人与白人的贫富差距

本研究探讨了父母对大学的经济援助在解释持续存在的黑人与白人代际财富差距方面的作用。本研究利用收入动态小组研究的数据，进行瓦哈卡-布林德分解，以估计父母的社会经济资源和大学经济援助所解释的种族财富差距的比例。分析表明，如果黑人以与白人相同的比例获得父母的大学经济援助，那么净资产的种族差距将显着缩小。父母经济援助也是父母经济资源维持黑人与白人代际贫富差距的机制之一。父母对大学的资助可以独立于儿童的教育程度和家庭收入来解释种族财富差异：当控制教育程度和家庭收入时，父母资助的系数具有统计显着性。调查结果呼吁采取政策干预措施，减少父母经济资源对大学教育经费的影响，以促进种族平等。