In the News 2015
In the News
Univision Takes an In-Depth Look at Hispanic Wealth and College Education
William R. Emmons discusses with
Univision how demographics factor into levels of wealth after college. Pointing to the St. Louis Fed's
Demographics of Wealth series, Emmons highlights how the wealth of Hispanic and black college graduates was reduced more by the Great Recession than was the wealth of white or Asian college graduates. (This article is written in Spanish.)
Spotlight on Poverty Blog Interviews Boshara
Coinciding with the
What It's Worth book launch, Center director Ray Boshara was
interviewed about thrivers and strugglers in the U.S.
New York Times Covers Center's Research on Wealth Gap
In November, The New York Times covered the Center's third and final essay in the "Demographics of Wealth" series, specifically pointing to research on the wealth gap between young and old families.
Center Staff Discuss Complications of Wealth Inequality in US
A Wall Street Journal blog discusses wealth inequality between the young and old, among races/ethnicities and among levels of education. The article highlights the Center's work on the
"Demographics of Wealth" series.
Boshara Addresses College Grads' Economic Outcomes to Catholic Charities USA Crowd
The National Catholic Reporter covered Center Director Ray Boshara's remarks at the charity's annual conference in Omaha, Neb.
Emmons Discusses Wealth Struggle of Young, Black, Latino and Undereducated
Referencing data from 1989 to 2013, William R. Emmons, the Center's senior economic adviser, points to disparities when it comes to building wealth in the U.S.
Indiana Public Radio Discusses Demographics of Wealth Essay Series
Indiana's WNIN public radio
discussed the findings of and local implications from the Center for Household Financial Stability's "Demographics of Wealth" essay series. William R. Emmons and Bryan Noeth, co-authors of the essay series, joined the conversation.
Boshara Discusses Broad Implications of Wealth
Ray Boshara, director of the Center for Household Financial Stability,
discusses how wealth accumulation can broadly affect not only a person's family but the community as a whole.
New York Times, Other Media Outlets Cover August's In the Balance
Issue 12 of the Center’s publication In the Balance was featured in local and national media, including Bloomberg TV,
CBS MoneyWatch,
CNN.com,
CNN TV,
Inside Higher Ed,
Investor’s Business Daily,
Latina,
Marketplace (American Public Media),
MarketWatch,
National Journal,
The New York Times,
NPR,
Quartz,
St. Louis Business Journal,
TheStreet.com,
U.S. News & World Report and
The Washington Post. This issue of the publication explored how college degrees protected (or did not protect) household wealth across race and ethnicity.
Part Three of "Demographics of Wealth" Essay Series Receives Coverage in Local and National News
The third essay in the Center's "Demographics of Wealth" essay series, which looked at the role age plays in families' ability to build wealth, was featured in
Bloomberg,
Business Insider,
Esquire and Elle magazines, the
Financial Post, the
Kansas City Business Journal,
The Kansas City Star, the
St. Louis Business Journal, the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
Money Magazine,
U.S. News and World Report, The Wall Street Journal's
Grand Central newsletter,
The Washington Post, The Washington Post's
Wonkblog and
WonkWire. In the essay, the authors found that, although there may be downsides to old age, those 62 and older can take heart in knowing that the odds are in favor of their being wealthier than younger people. And the gap has widened considerably over the past quarter-century—in favor of old people.
Various News Outlets Cover Center's Analysis
Over the summer, the Center's analysis received coverage from several local and national news outlets, including
CNN.com,
More Magazine, the
News of Orange County,
The Seattle Times and the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"Demographics of Wealth" Define Middle Class
Research from the Center for Household Financial Stability's "Demographics of Wealth" essay series was used to define the middle class in a
CNN Money article. The article defined the middle class as a makeup of people who generally fit some combination of the three demographic characteristics studied in the essay series: age, education and race.
Part Two of "Demographics of Wealth" Essay Series Receives Coverage in Local and National News
The second essay in the Center's "Demographics of Wealth" essay series, which looked at the role education plays in families' ability to build wealth, was featured in over 20 news outlets, including
Bloomberg News,
Bloomberg Radio's Taking Stock,
CNBC, the
National Journal,
St. Louis Public Radio,
The Wall Street Journal, and
The Washington Post. In the essay, the authors found that education and wealth are highly correlated, but correlation does not mean causation because several other factors that predict greater educational attainment are at play, including native ability, family background and even better health.
April’s In the Balance Receives Coverage in Local and National News
The April 2015 issue of In the Balance, which compared two methods of measuring the financial health of the middle class, was featured in over 20 publications including
Bloomberg View,
CBS MoneyWatch,
Los Angeles Times,
The New York Times,
Quartz,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
TIME Magazine and
The Wall Street Journal. The authors believe that the method most often used by economists—using the median income or wealth level—can be ambiguous and even misleading. Instead, they recommend using a demographics based definition—age, educational attainment and race or ethnicity. Using this method, the authors found that the middle class may be hurting financially more than most people realize.
Part One of "Demographics of Wealth" Essay Series Receives Coverage in Local and National News
The first essay of the Center’s “Demographics of Wealth” essay series, which examined the effect of race on families’ wealth levels, was featured in
Bloomberg News,
Bloomberg View,
CCTV,
CNBC,
CNNMoney,
KMOV-TV,
KMOX-AM,
NBC News,
Quartz.com,
Pacific Standard,
Slate Magazine,
St. Louis Business Journal,
The Independent Voter Network,
The Kansas City Star,
The Las Vegas Review-Journal,
The Seattle Times,
The St. Louis American,
The Wall Street Journal
and WNEW-FM.
Additionally, the Bloomberg View and CNNMoney pieces were picked up by more than 50 other news outlets nationwide. In the essay, the authors found that disparities in wealth across race and ethnicity have remained largely unchanged over the last quarter-century with the exception of Asian-Americans who have made great strides in increasing their wealth and income levels and are on track to surpass whites’ levels in the near future.
Boshara Speaks to Ferguson Commission on Economic Inequality
The sixth meeting of the Ferguson Commission was held on Feb. 23, 2015, with a focus on the economic inequity in the region. Ray Boshara, director of the Center for Household Financial Stability, discussed the disparities in income and wealth by age, race and education nationwide. View his slides here. Other speakers noted that St. Louis ranks 42nd out of 50 metropolitan areas for economic mobility. Coverage of the meeting was featured in the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the
St. Louis Business Journal, and on
KTRS-AM Radio.
Emmons Discusses Homeownership Decline
William Emmons, senior economic adviser at the Center for Household Financial Stability, discussed the current decline in homeownership and its expected rise to past peak levels in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article published on February 10, 2015.
Wall Street Journal Interviews Cynamon about Two-Tier Economy
Barry Cynamon, a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Steven Fazzari, professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis, were included in a Wall Street Journal article looking at the advance of wealthy households and how they are reshaping housing, clothing, beer and other markets. They said the 2009-2012 spending rebound following the Great Recession was largely driven by the wealthiest 5 percent of U.S. households, because spending by all others fell 1 percent per household during the same time period.
