>>17931702
Yes and no.
Mainstream economists broadly see African America’s economic weakness as the outcome of path-dependent historical exclusion, structural labor and wealth inequalities, and persistent segregation effects. The macroeconomic view is that these disparities function like structural underutilization of capacity in the U.S. economy, not simply a subgroup problem, but a national inefficiency.
The racial wealth gap is both a legacy issue and a self-perpetuating dynamic. Black households have far fewer assets to cushion downturns, invest in education, or start businesses. This fragility is amplified in recessions, where African Americans lose proportionally more wealth and recover more slowly. Persistent wage penalties and occupational segregation mean African Americans contribute labor but capture less income. This produces a dual effect: weaker aggregate demand in predominantly Black communities and underutilization of talent at the national level (i.e., human capital inefficiency).
Concentrated poverty limits mobility, reduces access to credit, and reinforces cycles of underinvestment in infrastructure and housing. This produces regional productivity gaps that ripple out nationally. Emphasis on the word concentrated. A consensus has emerged that African American entrepreneurs face greater hurdles in accessing credit and investment. This bottleneck limits the capacity of Black-owned firms to scale, suppressing the potential multiplier effects of entrepreneurship in African American communities.
I know it’s not as sexy as a populist finger wagging left or right, but it’s the reality. Such issues are best tackled on the microeconomic level and the macroeconomic level, like in the case of Baltimore which has seen a remarkable decline in gang violence and youth violence overall in the last 20 years. Mostly in the form of early prevention programs and efforts.
