The Fiscal Returns to Public Educational Investments in African American Males

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511762666.019

16 - The Fiscal Returns to Public Educational Investments in African American Males

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012

Clive Belfield and

Henry Levin

Edited by

Arthur J. Reynolds ,

Arthur J. Rolnick ,

Michelle M. Englund and

Judy A. Temple

Show author details

Arthur J. Reynolds: Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Arthur J. Rolnick: Affiliation:
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Michelle M. Englund: Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Judy A. Temple: Affiliation:
University of Minnesota

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Among all of the major demographic groups in the United States, African American (Black) males experience the poorest educational outcomes. Whether we measure such outcomes in terms of test scores, high school graduation, postsecondary attendance, or college graduation, African American males lag substantially behind other groups. It is widely recognized that unequal educational outcomes lead to unequal economic consequences throughout the life-course. In particular, individuals with low-attainment and poor-quality education – characteristics that often overlap – can expect to face inferior employment prospects, low wages, poor health, and greater involvement in the criminal justice system.

Educational inequality for Black males is a moral issue, but it is also an economic one: Poor education leads to large social costs in the form of lower societal income and economic growth, lower tax revenues, and higher costs of public services such as health, criminal justice, and public assistance. Thus, it is possible to assess efforts to improve educational outcomes for Black males as a public investment that might yield high returns.

In this chapter, we undertake a comprehensive assessment of the public returns to investments for improving the educational attainments of Black males. We begin by documenting the extent of educational inequality between Blacks and Whites. Next, we identify educational interventions that would increase the rate of high school graduation, and we calculate their public costs.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Childhood Programs and Practices in the First Decade of Life
A Human Capital Integration
, pp. 342 - 365

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511762666.019 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2010

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