Inherited inequality and discrimination

Abstract

This paper examines how income-inequality promotes racial discrimination. When the influence of income is intergenerational, it generates a strong correlation between parental income status and the race that their children inherit. This makes parents' income statuses identifiable through applicants' races and enables employers to discriminate against the races of the low-income group. Antidiscrimination policies may not be effective if they do not improve on income-inequality. An effective means of reducing income-inequality is to minimize the parental influence that causes inherited inequality. The implications of the discriminatory practice of legacy admissions are discussed in this context.