The intergenerational flow of income: family structure and the status of black Americans

This study examines how income and family structure affect black-white differences in intergenerational financial flows, focusing on the two-way flow between parents and children in the years immediately after high school and how these flows in turn influence educational expectations. Based on data from the High School and Beyond survey, the findings indicate that black young adults receive less and contribute more income to their families at this critical juncture of the life course. These differences reflect not only differential resources but also differences in family structure, particularly in the proportion with only one parent or with a very young parent. Parental financial contributions to their children's educational expenses had a very strong effect on the children's educational expectations, eliminating the direct effects of income on the amount of schooling young people expect. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the study of parent-child relationships and the effects of these relationships on more general stratification processes.