Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9408
Authors: Betsey Stevenson; Justin Wolfers
Abstract: Progress in closing differences in many objective outcomes for blacks relative to whites has slowed, and even worsened, over the past three decades. However, over this period the racial gap in well-being has shrunk. In the early 1970s data revealed much lower levels of subjective well-being among blacks relative to whites. Investigating various measures of well-being, we find that the well-being of blacks has increased both absolutely and relative to that of whites. While a racial gap in well-being remains, two-fifths of the gap has closed and these gains have occurred despite little progress in closing other racial gaps such as those in income, employment, and education. Much of the current racial gap in well-being can be explained by differences in the objective conditions of the lives of black and white Americans. Thus making further progress will likely require progress in closing racial gaps in objective circumstances.
Keywords: happiness; life satisfaction; race; subjective wellbeing
JEL Codes: D6; I32; J1; J7; K1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| continued discrimination (J71) | persistence of the wellbeing gap (I14) |
| racial gap in subjective wellbeing (I31) | subjective wellbeing (I31) |
| increase in black wellbeing (I31) | white wellbeing (I31) |
| objective circumstances (E66) | racial gap in wellbeing (I31) |
| observable characteristics (C90) | racial gap in wellbeing (I31) |