May 25-26, 2016
Recent research, led by William R. Emmons of the St. Louis Fed’s Center for Household Financial Stability, found that a college degree predicted rising levels of family wealth between 1992-2013 for whites and Asians, but declining levels of wealth over that period for blacks and Hispanics. This finding generated media coverage from The New York Times and many other national outlets. Through commissioned papers, the symposium aimed to better understand the underlying explanations of this troubling finding. New papers addressed differing experiences with homeownership, mortgages, student loans, family formation, inheritances, post-college labor markets and pre-college environments.
Event Details
Detailed Agenda (pdf)
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Please note: Papers and presentation slides are in PDF format unless otherwise noted.
May 25
Welcome
video
- Robert Hopkins, Vice President and Regional Executive, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Ray Boshara, Senior Adviser and Director, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Opening Roundtable: Why Does Wealth Vary among College Graduates?
paper | slides | video
Authors
- William R. Emmons, Senior Economic Adviser, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Lowell R. Ricketts, Senior Analyst, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Discussants
- Angelyque Campbell, Manager, Policy Analysis, Federal Reserve Board
- Su Jin Jez, Associate Professor, Public Policy and Administration, Sacramento State University
- Eric Rodriguez, Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation, National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
Moderator
- Michael Fletcher, Senior Writer, "The Undefeated," ESPN/Formerly, National Economics Correspondent, The Washington Post
Panel Discussion
video
Q and A Session
video
May 26
The Pre- and Post-College Experiences
Moderator
- Sol Carbonell, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
video
Authors
- Darrick Hamilton, Associate Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School
paper | video
- Cory Koedel, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Missouri-Columbia
paper | video
Discussant
- Mark Huelsman, Senior Policy Analyst, Demos
video
Q and A Session
video
Changes in Family Structure
Author
Discussant
- George-Levi Gayle, Research Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
video
Moderator
- Jami Curley, Associate Professor of Social Work, Saint Louis University
Q and A Session
video
Keynote Conversation
- Ray Boshara, Senior Adviser and Director, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- William A. “Sandy” Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, Duke University
video: part 1 | part 2
The Homeownership and Mortgage Experiences
slides
|
video
Authors
- Carlos Garriga, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Don Schlagenhauf, Economist, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- Lowell R. Ricketts, Senior Analyst, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Discussant
- Stephen L. Ross, Professor of Economics, University of Connecticut
slides | video
Moderator
- Molly W. Metzger, Assistant Professor, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis
Q and A Session
video
The Role of Inheritances and Family Transfers
slides | video
Authors
- Thomas M. Shapiro, Director, Institute on Assets and Social Policy, Brandeis University
- Tatjana Meschede, Scientist and Senior Lecturer, Brandeis University
Discussant
- Darrick Hamilton, Associate Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School
video
Moderator
- Jason Q. Purnell, Assistant Professor, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis
Q and A Session
video
Closing Reflection, Moving Forward
- Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Director, Racial Wealth Divide Initiative, CFED
- Maxine Clark, CEO, Clark Fox Family Foundation
- Kilolo Kijakazi, Institute Fellow, Urban Institute
Moderator
- Ray Boshara, Senior Adviser and Director, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Panel Discussion
video
Q and A Session
video
