May 25-26, 2016
Hosted by the St. Louis Fed’s Center for Household Financial Stability, the “Does College Level the Playing Field?” research symposium was held May 25-26, 2016.
Through commissioned papers, the symposium aimed to better understand the underlying explanations of research led by the Center’s lead economist, William R. Emmons, which 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.
The papers that were presented at the symposium addressed differing experiences with homeownership, mortgages, student loans, family formation, inheritances, post-college labor markets and pre-college environments. Links to the papers, recently published in the St. Louis Fed’s Review, can be found below, along with videos of the symposium presentations.
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May 25
Welcome
Opening Roundtable: Why Does Wealth Vary among College Graduates?
Papers
- William R. Emmons, Senior Economic Adviser, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Lowell R. Ricketts, Senior Analyst, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
College Is Not Enough: Higher Education Does Not Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Wealth Gaps (PDF)
- Angelyque Campbell, Manager, Policy Analysis, Federal Reserve Board
Why Does Wealth Vary Among College Graduates? (PDF)
- Su Jin Jez, Associate Professor, Public Policy and Administration, Sacramento State University
Not All College Is Equal When It Comes to Wealth and Race (PDF)
- Eric Rodriguez, Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation, National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
Addressing the Wealth Gap for Hispanic Families (PDF)
Videos
May 26
The Pre- and Post-College Experiences
Papers
Videos
Changes in Family Structure
Paper
Videos
Keynote Conversation
Videos and transcripts:
The Homeownership and Mortgage Experiences
Paper
- 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, and Lowell R. Ricketts, Senior Analyst, Center for Household Financial Stability, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
The Homeownership Experience of Minorities During the Great Recession (PDF)
Videos
The Role of Inheritances and Family Transfers
Paper
Videos
Closing Reflection, Moving Forward