"Family Structure, Race, and Wealth Ownership: A Longitudinal Exploration of Wealth Accumulation Processes"

Researchers have documented racial inequalities in wealth ownership and have offered a variety of explanations to account for these differences. One potentially important contributing factor that has received little attention is racial differences in family structure. This paper explores racial differences in the structure of family of origin and family in adulthood and examines the impact of these differences on wealth accumulation patterns. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I find that large family size and family disruptions in childhood are negatively associated with wealth accumulation, portfolio behavior, and wealth mobility in adulthood. My analyses suggest that family size is a more important factor determining wealth accumulation for whites than for blacks or Hispanics and that family disruption is most strongly related to wealth outcomes for Hispanics. I find that family structure in adulthood is only modestly associated with overall wealth but strongly related to portfolio behavior and wealth mobility and that these relationships are relatively fixed across racial groups. My findings lend support to arguments about the importance of the role that resource dilution plays in determining life outcomes. They also suggest that efforts to reduce racial inequality in wealth ownership may be most effective if they seek to reduce the impact of deprivation early in life.

Family Structure, Race, and Wealth Ownership: A Longitudinal Exploration of Wealth Accumulation Processes

Researchers have documented racial inequalities in wealth ownership and have offered a variety of explanations to account for these differences. One potentially important contributing factor that has received little attention is racial differences in family structure. This paper explores racial differences in the structure of family of origin and family in adulthood and examines the impact of these differences on wealth accumulation patterns. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I find that large family size and family disruptions in childhood are negatively associated with wealth accumulation, portfolio behavior, and wealth mobility in adulthood. My analyses suggest that family size is a more important factor determining wealth accumulation for whites than for blacks or Hispanics and that family disruption is most strongly related to wealth outcomes for Hispanics. I find that family structure in adulthood is only modestly associated with overall wealth but strongly related to portfolio behavior and wealth mobility and that these relationships are relatively fixed across racial groups. My findings lend support to arguments about the importance of the role that resource dilution plays in determining life outcomes. They also suggest that efforts to reduce racial inequality in wealth ownership may be most effective if they seek to reduce the impact of deprivation early in life.

Religion and Inequality: The Role of Status Attainment and Social Balance Processes

Religion is an important determinant of social and economic inequality, but the mechanisms that underlie this relationship are not well-understood. Early scholars recognized this connection, but their ideas do not adequately explain contemporary stratification patterns. Recent research documents robust empirical relationships between religion and material outcomes but has not yet begun to identify causes of these patterns. We fill this gap by providing a theoretical explanation of the religion-inequality link that synthesizes ideas from early and recent sociology. We propose that the process is inherently multilevel. We draw on ideas from status attainment theory to develop a micro-model and ideas from social balance theory to aggregate the model’s outcomes. The synthesis of ideas from these theoretical traditions provides a unique, and potentially useful way to understand the relationship between cultural orientation and material resources

Insider Lending and Economic Transition: The Structure, Function, and Performance Impact of Finance Companies in Chinese Business Groups

During the 1980s, China experienced dramatic real growth without the benefit of a well-developed financial system. China's experience during that decade provides an interesting contrast to evidence that real growth is strongly correlated with the development of an economy's formal financial system. Also during the 1980s, business groups were developing among Chinese firms. Many business groups, almost immediately after their formation, established finance companies, specialized firms that collected and redistributed funds within the group and also obtained funds through state banks on behalf of member firms. As such, the finance companies engaged in a type of "insider lending" that economic historians argue has aided firms in overcoming the challenges associated with poorly-developed formal financial markets in other developing economies. I examine the emergence, structure, and performance impact of insider lending arrangements in Chinese business groups using data on China's 40 largest business groups and their 535 member firms in 1988 and 1990. The analyses reveal that the presence and predominance of insider lending arrangements in the business groups positively affect the financial performance (profitability) and productivity (output per worker) of firms, particularly where markets have been slow to develop.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39582/3/wp195.pd

Insider Lending and Economic Transition: The Structure, Function, and Performance Impact of Finance Companies in Chinese Business Groups

During the 1980s, China experienced dramatic real growth without the benefit of a well-developed financial system. China's experience during that decade provides an interesting contrast to evidence that real growth is strongly correlated with the development of an economy's formal financial system. Also during the 1980s, business groups were developing among Chinese firms. Many business groups, almost immediately after their formation, established finance companies, specialized firms that collected and redistributed funds within the group and also obtained funds through state banks on behalf of member firms. As such, the finance companies engaged in a type of "insider lending" that economic historians argue has aided firms in overcoming the challenges associated with poorly-developed formal financial markets in other developing economies. I examine the emergence, structure, and performance impact of insider lending arrangements in Chinese business groups using data on China's 40 largest business groups and their 535 member firms in 1988 and 1990. The analyses reveal that the presence and predominance of insider lending arrangements in the business groups positively affect the financial performance (profitability) and productivity (output per worker) of firms, particularly where markets have been slow to develop.