Family structure and bequest inequalities between black and white households in the United States, 1989-2022
Year: 2024
Type: report
Abstract: Intergenerational financial transfers are an important source of support during different life periods.Several demographic trends, especially increased longevity and postponed and declining fertility, influence the timing and level of these transfers.We know little, however, about the interactions between these trends and the accumulation and drawing down of household wealth over the life cycle.Here we show that the age distribution of parental mortality is the major factor influencing the age distribution of average bequest amounts among children.Using demographic microsimulations and survey estimates of net worth in the United States between 1989 and 2022, we find that average bequests are highest among the oldest parents and children, that children of white parents can expect 2 to 3 times higher bequests than children of black parents across the age distribution, and that, while mean amounts decreased across the board after the 2008 financial crisis, relative black-white differences increased.
Institution: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4395444621