Subjective and Objective Indicators of Racial Progress * 

Betsey Stevenson The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, 

University of Michigan  & CESifo and NBER betseys@umich.edu 

http://www.nber.org/~bstevens  

Justin Wolfers The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy & 

Department of Economics, University of Michigan & CAMA, CESifo, CEPR, IZA and NBER 

jwolfers@umich.edu  http://www.nber.org/~jwolfers

Abstract

Progressinclosingdifferencesinmanyobjectiveoutcomesforblacksrelativetowhiteshasslowed,andevenworsened,overthepastthreedecades.However,overthisperiodtheracialgapinwell‐beinghasshrunk.Intheearly1970sdatarevealedmuchlowerlevelsofsubjectivewell‐beingamongblacksrelativetowhites.Investigatingvariousmeasuresofwell‐being,wefindthatthewell‐beingofblackshasincreasedbothabsolutelyandrelativetothatofwhites.Whilearacialgapinwell‐beingremains,two‐fifthsofthegaphasclosedandthesegainshaveoccurreddespitelittleprogressinclosingotherracialgapssuchasthoseinincome,employment,andeducation.Muchofthecurrentracialgapinwell‐beingcanbeexplainedbydifferencesintheobjectiveconditionsofthelivesofblackandwhiteAmericans.Thusmakingfurtherprogresswilllikelyrequireprogressinclosingracialgapsinobjectivecircumstances.

Thisdraft:March15,2013

Keywords:Subjectivewell‐being,lifesatisfaction,happiness,race

JELcodes:D6,I32,J1,J7,K1

*TheauthorswouldliketothankseminarparticipantsatWhartonandparticipantsattheUniversityofChicagoLawandEconomicsofRaceconference,aswellasJonathonMasurforusefuldiscussions.BetseyStevensonwouldliketothankSloanforsupportthroughaWork‐FamilyEarlyCareerDevelopmentGrantandtheNationalInstitutesofHealth‐NationalInstituteonAging(grantP30AG12836),theBoettnerCenterforPensionsandRetirementSecurityattheUniversityofPennsylvania,andNationalInstitutesofHealth–NationalInstituteofChildHealthandHumanDevelopmentPopulationResearchInfrastructureProgram(grantR24HD‐044964)attheUniversityofPennsylvaniaforfunding.

I. Introduction 

TheCivilRightsMovementrevolutionizedthelivesofblacksintheUnitedStates.Aseriesoflegal

victoriesandpublicpolicychangesinthe1950sand1960soutlaweddejurediscrimination.These

legalandpolicychanges—BrownvBoardofEducation(37U.S.483[1954]),theCivilRightsActof

1964,theVotingRightsActof1965,andtheFairHousingActof1968—openedthedoorstoschools,

jobs,housing,andprivateestablishmentsthatservedthepublic,throughoutthecountry.Sociologists

havearguedthatduringthisperiodblackmenandwomenexperiencedlargeimprovementsin

occupationalstatus,whichledtotheriseoftheblackmiddleclass.1

Theselegalandpolicychangesyieldedimprovementsintheobjectivecircumstancesofthelivesof

blacks,particularlyintheperiodrightafterthelawswerepassed.DonohueandHeckman(1991)

studythetimingofthechangesinthelawsandlabormarketgainsaccruingtoblackmen.They

concludethatthewagegainsexperiencedbyblackmenrelativetowhitemenintheperiodfrom1965

to1975wereduetothereductionindejurediscrimination,particularlyintheSouth.2However,since

then,theearningsgapbyracehaswidenedforbothmenandwomen.AltonjiandBlank(1999,p.

3149)notethat“althoughblackmen'swagesrosefasterthanwhitemen'sinthe1960sandearly

1970s,therehasbeenlittlerelativeimprovement(andevensomedeterioration)inthe25yearssince

then.”Inthedecadesincetheirarticletherehasbeenlittlechangeintheratioofmedianweekly

earningsofblackandwhitemen.3

Atthetimeofthelegalreforms,blacksreportedlevelsofsubjectivewell‐beingthatwerewell

belowthoseofwhites.Sociologistsexaminingdataonsubjectivewell‐beinghavepointedtothislarge

gapandconcludedthatimprovementsinthecivilrightsofblackshavehadlittleimpactontheir

subjectivewell‐beingdespitehavingmadeimprovementsinobjectivemeasures.In1986,Thomasand

HughesevaluateddatafromtheGeneralSocialSurvey(GSS),showingthat“blacksscoreconsistently

lowerthanwhitesonmeasuresofpsychologicalwell‐being.”Further,theyarguedthat“the

differencesbetweenblacksandwhitesremainedconstantbetween1972and1985.”Thisledthemto

concludethatracecontinuestobeanimportantfactordeterminingsubjectivewell‐being,“inspiteof

recentchangesinthesocialandlegalstatusofblackAmericans”(ThomasandHughes1986,p.830).

1Wilson(1980,pp.126‐30);ThomasandHughes(1986)2DonohueandHeckman(1991)pointtotheexperienceofepisodic,ratherthancontinuous,wagegainsasevidencethatthegainsreflectedthelegalreformsinsteadofbeingpartofbroadertrendsininequality.3 Medianusualweeklyearningsofemployedfulltime,wageandsalaryworkers,BlackorAfricanAmerican,menandwhitemen,CurrentPopulationSurvey.

2

In1998,theyre‐visitedthequestionandconcludedthatevenwiththelongerrunofdata,therehad

beennochangeintheself‐reportedhappinessofblacks(HughesandThomas1998).

Yetmorerecentstudieshavefoundthattheblack‐whitewell‐beinggaphasshrunksincethe

1970s.4However,noneofthesestudieshaveinvestigatedtheracialgapinwell‐beingindepth,nor

havetheyattemptedtoconsiderwhatmaybebehindthesedeclines.Weshowinthispaperthatthe

black‐whitewell‐beinggapobservedinthe1970swasthreetimesgreaterthanthatwhichcanbe

explainedbyobjectivedifferencesinthelivesofblacksandwhites.Moreover,differencesinwell‐

beingbyraceweregreaterthandifferencesbetweenothergroups,suchasrichandpoor.Forinstance,

inthe1970s,blacksattheninetiethpercentileoftheblackhouseholdincomedistributionhadasmuch

incomeasawhitepersonattheseventy‐fifthpercentile;however,theiraveragelevelofwell‐being

waslowerthanthatofawhitepersonwithincomeatthetenthpercentile.Thisfindingisconsistent

withhealthstudiesthatfindthatthehealthoutcomesofblacksareworsethanthoseofwhiteseven

whenconditioningonincome(Franks,etal.2006).

Weshowthattherehassincebeensubstantialimprovementinthereportedwell‐beingof

blacksbothabsolutelyandrelativetowhites.Inthe1970s,nearlyaquarterofallblacksintheGSS

reportedbeinginthelowestcategory(“nottoohappy”),comparedtoatenthofwhites.Bythe2000s

roughlyafifthofblacksreportedbeinginthelowestcategory,comparedtoatenthofwhites.Blacks

havemovedoutofthebottomcategoryofhappinessandindoingsohavebecomemorelikelyoverthis

periodtoreportbeinginthetopcategory(“veryhappy”).Incontrast,whiteshavebecomelesslikelyto

reportbeingveryhappy.Whiletheopportunitiesandachievementsofblackshaveimprovedoverthis

period,thehappinessgainsfarexceedthosethatmightbeexpectedonthebasisofthese

improvementsinconventionalobjectivemeasuresofstatus.

Socialchangesthathaveoccurredoverthepastfourdecadeshaveincreasedtheopportunities

availabletoblacks,andastandardeconomicframeworkwouldsuggestthattheseexpanded

opportunitieswouldhaveincreasedtheirwell‐being.However,othershavenotedthatcontinued

discriminationpresentsabarriertorealizingthesebenefits.Andtherehasbeenlittleprogressin

closingracialgapsinmanyobjectivemeasures.Aspreviouslynoted,therehasbeenlittleprogressin

closingtheearningsgapsince1980,theeducationgaphasbeenstubbornlypersistentsince1990,and

4BlanchflowerandOswald(2004)findevidenceofanimprovementinthewell‐beingofblacksovertime.StevensonandWolfers(2008b)findthatinequalityinwell‐beingisdecliningovertime,includingadeclineinthedifferencesinwell‐beingbetweenwhitesandnon‐whites.Yang(2008)alsofindsthatinequalityinhappinessbyraceisdecliningovertime.

3

unemploymentdisparitiesarelittleimproved.5Inaddition,healthdifferences,likehigherinfant

mortalityratesamongblacks,haveprovenpersistent(MacDormanandMathews2011;Kriegeretal.

2008).Ourstudyillustratesthatthefruitsofthecivilrightsmovementmaylieinother,moredifficult

todocument,improvementsinthequalityoflife—improvementsthathaveledtorisinglevelsof

happinessandlifesatisfactionforsomeblacks.Buttheseimprovementshavetakendecadestobe

realized,andevenifcurrentratesofprogresspersist,itwilltakeseveralmoredecadestofullyclose

theblack‐whitewell‐beinggap.

Ourcontributioninthispaperistocarefullydocumenttrends,overseveraldecades,in

subjectivewell‐beingbyraceintheUnitedStates,collectingevidenceacrossawidearrayofdatasets

coveringvariousdemographicgroups,timeperiods,andmeasuresofsubjectivewell‐being.To

previewourfindings,SectionIIshowsthatblacksintheUnitedStatesweremuchlesshappythan

whitesinthe1970’sandthattheracialgapinwell‐beingwasgreaterthanthatwhichwouldbe

predictedbyobjectivedifferencesinlifecircumstances.Wenextshowthatoverrecentdecades,the

well‐beingofblackshasincreased,bothabsolutelyandrelativetowhites.Blackscontinuetoreport

lowerlevelsofwell‐beingcomparedtowhites,butthegaphasbeensystematicallyclosing,andmuch

oftheextantgapisexplainedbyconditioningonobjectivecircumstances.InsectionIIIweshowthat

thisfactisrobusttoaccountingfortrendsinincarceration(potentiallymissingdata)andtoexploring

otherdatasetsandmeasuresofsubjectivewell‐being.InsectionIV,weconsiderwhohasreceivedthe

greatestgainsinwell‐beingamongblacksandhowthathascontributedtotheclosingoftheracialgap.

Wealsoexploretherelationshipbetweenincomeandwell‐beingbyraceandtakealookatother

measuresofwell‐being.

II. Subjective Well‐Being Trends by Race 

Webeginbyexaminingsubjectivewell‐beingintheUnitedStatessincethe1970susingdata

fromtheGeneralSocialSurvey(GSS).Thissurveyisanationallyrepresentativesampleofabout1,500

respondentseachyearfrom1972to1993(except1979,1981,and1992)andcontinueswitharound

3,000respondentseverysecondyearfrom1994throughto2004,risingto4,500respondentsin2006

andfallingto3,500respondentsin2008.6Theserepeatedcross‐sectionsaredesignedtotrack

5Krueger,Rothstein,andTurner(2006,p.284)describe“slowandepisodic”improvementsintestscoresbetween1970and1990that“essentiallystoppedaround1990.”6Onlyhalftherespondentswerequeriedabouttheirhappinessin2002and2004,followedbytwo‐thirdsin2006.In2008,therewere2,036newpeoplesurveyedand1,536peoplefromthe2006surveywhowereresurveyed.

4

attitudesandbehaviorsamongtheU.S.populationandcontainawiderangeofdemographicand

attitudinalquestions.Throughoutthispaper,wefocusonthesampleofrespondentswhoidentify

themselvesaseither“white,”or“black”;theresidual“other”categorycompriseslessthan5percentof

allrespondents(andlessthan1percentinthe1970s)andsoyieldstoosmallasampletopermit

meaningfulanalysis.

Subjectivewell‐beingismeasuredusingthequestion:“Takenalltogether,howwouldyousay

thingsarethesedays—wouldyousaythatyouareveryhappy,prettyhappy,ornottoohappy?”In

addition,respondentsareaskedabouttheirsatisfactionwithanumberofaspectsoftheirlife,suchas

theirmarriage,theirhealth,theirfinancialsituation,andtheirjob.ThelongdurationoftheGSSand

theuseofconsistentsurveylanguagetomeasuresubjectivewell‐beingmakeitideallysuitedfor

analyzingtrendsovertime.However,thereareafewchangestothesurveythatcanimpactreported

well‐being.Forexample,ineveryyearbut1972,thequestionabouthappinessfollowedaquestion

aboutmaritalhappiness,andineveryyearexcept1972and1985,thehappinessquestionwas

precededbyafive‐itemsatisfactionscale.Bothofthesechangeshavebeenshowntoimpactreported

happiness(Smith1990).Wecreateaconsistentseriesthataccountsforthesemeasurementchanges

usingthesplit‐ballotexperimentsdonebytheGSSinordertoprovideabridgebetweendifferent

versionsofthesurvey.Wemakeadjustmentstothedatafollowingtheapproachdetailedinappendix

AofStevensonandWolfers(2008b).7Finally,inordertoensurethatthesetimeseriesarenationally

representative,allestimatesareweighted(usingtheproductoftheusualGSSweightWTSSALLand

theweightOVERSAMP,whichallowsustoincludetheblackoversamplesin1982and1987).Inorder

tomaintaincontinuitywithearliersurveyrounds,wealsoexcludethose2006interviewsthat

occurredinSpanishandcouldnothavebeencompletedhadEnglishbeentheonlyoption,asSpanish‐

languagesurveyswerenotofferedinpreviousyears.8

Inordertofacilitatecomparisonswithotherdatasets,weneedtofindawaytostandardizethe

measureofsubjectivewell‐being,sincethesedatalackanaturalscaleandarereporteddifferently

acrossdatasets.Wetreattheseorderedcategories,runningfrom“nottoohappy”to“prettyhappy”

andthen“veryhappy”asscoresof1,2,and3,respectively,sohighernumbersindicategreater

happiness.Inordertomakethescalemeaningful,wethenstandardizethehappinessvariableby

subtractingthemeananddividingbythestandarddeviation.Therefore,thecoefficientsinour

7Whileusingthesplit‐ballotexperimentsallowsacomparisontoincludetheyears1972and1985,italsomeansthatitisnotpossibletosimplydropthese2outlieryears,asresultsfromsubsequentsurveysalsoneedtobeadjustedforthepresenceoftheseexperimentalsplitballots.8ThistreatmentofthedataalsofollowsStevensonandWolfers(2008b).

5

regressionshaveanaturalinterpretation—theycapturetheaveragenumberofstandarddeviation

changesinsubjectivewell‐beingassociatedwitha1unitchangeintheindependentvariable.This

rescalinghasthedisadvantageofassumingthatthedifferencebetweenanytwolevelsofasubjective

well‐beingquestionisequal(thatitisequallyvaluabletomove,forexample,from“nottoohappy”to

“prettyhappy”asitistomovefrom“prettyhappy”to“nottoohappy”).Theresultswepresentare

robusttoalternativemethodsofstandardizingsuchasusinganorderedprobitregressionorsimply

usingtherawscaling.9

Figure1showstheaveragelevelsofwell‐beingforblacksandwhitesineachyearofour

sample;thesolidsquaresalsoshowtheimpliedannualestimatesoftheblack‐whitewell‐beinggap,

andthe95percentconfidenceintervalaroundtheseestimatesareshaded.Inthe1970sthereisa

largegapbetweenthewell‐beingofblacksandwhites.Thewell‐beingindexisstandardized,and

hencethemetricisinterpretable:theblack‐whitewell‐beinggapinthe1970swasequaltonearlyhalf

ofthestandarddeviationofwell‐being.Overtheensuingperiodtheaveragewell‐beinglevelofwhites

declinedslightly,whiletheaveragewell‐beinglevelofblackstrendedupward.Theincreasingwell‐

beingofblacksand,toalesserextent,thedecliningwell‐beingofwhiteshasledtoaclosureoftwo‐

fifthsoftheblack‐whitewell‐beinggap.

Table1embedsthesefindingsinamoreformalregressionanalysis.Weestimatearegressionof

theform:

 , ∗

1972100

∗1972

100  [1] 

whereidenotesanindividual,andtdenotestheyearinwhichthatindividualwassurveyedbytheGSS.

Thetimetrendsaremeasuredastimesincethestartofthesamplein1972,dividedby100,which

meansthatβ measurestheblack‐whitehappinessgapin1972,whileβ andβ measurethegrowth

percenturyinwell‐beingforwhitesandblacks,respectively.Thusβ β measureschangesinthe

black‐whitewell‐beinggappercentury,and measuresthefractionofacenturyrequiredtoclose

theinitialblack‐whitewell‐beinggap.Weestimatethisusingordinaryleastsquaresregresson,and

clusterourstandarderrorsattheyearlevel.Theseresultsareshownincolumn1ofTable1.The

regressionrevealsthesamepatternsseeninFigure1,showingbothanincreaseinthewell‐beingof

9Themostimportantdifferencebetweenthestandardizationweemployhereandtheorderedprobitregressionisthatthelatterscalesdifferencesrelativetothestandarddeviationofwell‐beingconditionaloncovariates,whilethesimplernormalizationweemployscalesdifferencesrelativetotheunconditionalstandarddeviationof

6

blacksandadeclineinthewell‐beingofwhites.Whiletheincreaseinblackwell‐beingisnotitself

statisticallysignificant—largelyreflectingthestatisticalimprecisionthatcomesfromthesmallsample

ofblacksintheGSS—thedifferencebetweenthetwotrendsisstatisticallysignificantlydifferentfrom

zeroatthe1percentlevel.Blackwell‐beingincreasedrelativetothatofwhitesatarateof.498ofa

standarddeviationpercentury,whichoverthe36yearsofourdatacumulatestoaclosingof.180ofa

standarddeviation.Takingthepredictedvaluesofthisequationsuggeststhatin1972,blackswereon

average.449ofastandarddeviationlesshappythanwhites,andthatdifferencehadshrunkto.269of

astandarddeviationby2008.

Interpreting the magnitude of the racial well‐being gap 

Inordertogetasenseoftherelevantmagnitudes,itisworthcomparingtheracialwell‐being

gapwiththewell‐beinggapbetweenrichandpoor.Figure2showstherelationshipbetweenwell‐

beingandthelogofincome,plottingaveragelevelsofwell‐beingandincomeforeachvigintile(20‐

quantile)oftheincomedistribution.(Tobeclear,ourincomemeasureisrealfamilyincomeper

householdequivalent.)10Noticethatthehorizontalaxisisalogscale,andsothelinearpattern

suggestsalinearrelationshipbetweenmeasuredwell‐beingandlogincome(thus,subjectivewell‐

beingrisesatadecreasingrateasincomeincreases).Asshowninpreviousstudies,therelationship

betweensubjectivewell‐beingandincomeisbestdescribedasalevel‐logrelationship,withwell‐being

increasinglinearlyasthelogofincomerises.11Onesimplecomparisoncontraststhewell‐beingofthe

poor(roughlythebottomquartileofthefamilyincomedistribution—thosewithincomeslessthan

$15,000peryearperequivalenthousehold),andtherich(thetopquartile,withhousehold‐equivalent

incomesofmorethan$40,000peryear).Thisyieldsarich‐poorwell‐beinggapof0.441.Thatis,the

well‐being.FormoreinformationoncardinalizinghappinessvariablesseevanPraagandFerrer‐i‐Carbonell(2004)andappendixAinStevensonandWolfers(2008a).10TheGeneralSocialSurvey(GSS)measuresnominalfamilyincomeinvariouscategories.Wetransformtheseintopointestimatesbyusingintervalregression,assumingthatincomeislognormallydistributedineachyear,anddeflatebytheconsumerpriceindexresearchseriesusingcurrentmethods(CPI—RS)sothatthisismeasuredin2005dollars.WeusethemodifiedOrganisationforEconomicCo‐operationandDevelopment(OECD)equivalencescaletotakeaccountofeconomiesofscaleinhouseholdsize(thefirstadultiscountedasoneperson,subsequentadultscountas.5,andchildrencountas.3).Thus,ourincomeconceptisrealfamilyincomeperequivalent.11StevensonandWolfers(2008a)andDeaton(2008)explorethefunctionalformthatbestfitsthedata.Whilethelevel‐logrelationshipappearstobethebestfit,analysisoftherelationshipofwell‐beingwithboththelevelandthelogofincomeshowasimilarfinding,whichisthatsubjectivewell‐beingrisesatadecreasingrateasincomeincreases,withnoevidencethatthedecreasingrateslowsovertime.Infact,estimatessuggestthat,ifanything,thedecreaseinthemarginalincreaseinsubjectivewell‐beingfromeachadditionaldollarmaybegintoslowathighlevelsofincome.

7

magnitudeoftheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapinthe1970swasroughlyequaltothewell‐beinggap

betweenpeopleinthetopandbottomquartilesoftheincomedistribution.Thislargewell‐beinggap

occurreddespitethefactthattheblack‐whiteincomegapwasmuchsmallerthantherich‐poorincome

gap—indeed,intheGSS,theaverageincomeofblacksinthe1970swas$16,500,comparedwith

$26,800forwhites.

Inordertobemoreformalaboutthis,wecancompareourestimatesoftheblack‐whitewell‐

beinggapwiththecoefficientonincomeinastandardwell‐beingequation.Thus,weestimatea

simpleregressionofourstandardizedwell‐beingmeasureonlogincome,controllingforafullsetof

age race genderfixedeffectsandyearfixedeffects.Thisyieldsawell‐being‐incomegradientof

0.186,withastandarderrorof0.006,whichisconsistentwithpreviousestimates;thisestimated

regressionlineisillustratedinFigure2.12Inthe1970stheaverageoflogincomeforblackswas0.56

logpointlessthanthatforwhites.Thisincomegapwouldbeexpectedtocreateawell‐beinggapof

0.186 0.56=0.10.Thus,theblack‐whitewell‐beinggapin1972wasroughlyfourtimeslargerthan

mightbeexpectedonthebasisoftheincomegap.AsFigure1shows,overtheensuingfourdecades,

two‐fifthsoftheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapcloseddespitelittleclosureintheincomegap.Yetthere

remainsaracialwell‐beinggapthatislargerthanmightbeexpectedsimplyonthebasisofincome

differences.

The conditional racial well‐being gap 

Toassesstheracialwell‐beinggap,whileholdingincomedifferencesconstant,theregression

inthesecondcolumnofTable1controlsflexiblyforincome,addingaquarticinlogfamilyincomeper

equivalent(usingtheOrganisationforEconomicCo‐operationandDevelopment’smodified

equivalencescale)plusadummyvariableforthosewithmissingdata.Inthisspecificationweseethat

the1972racialgapinwell‐being,conditionalonrealfamilyincomein1972,fellfrom.449to.354.This

simplyrepeatsthefindingabove:lessthanone‐quarteroftheinitialracialwell‐beinggapcanbe

explainedbyincomedifferences.By2008theracialgapinwell‐beinghadfallenbyasimilaramount

whetherornotweholddifferencesinhouseholdincomeconstant.Incolumn1,weseethattheracial

gapinwell‐beingfellby.18ofastandarddeviation,andaddingcontrolsforincomeyieldsafallof.17

ofastandarddeviation.

Thus,littleofthechangeovertimeintheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapisexplainedbychangesin

income.Thisispartiallyduesimplytothefactthattheblack‐whiteincomegaphasnotclosedmuch

8

sincethe1970s.Table2reportsthemedianwagesofmenandwomeninconstantdollarsinthe1970s

andinthe2000s.Earningsofthemedianblackmanare60percentofthoseofthemedianwhiteman

inthe1970sandhavegrownto72percentbythe2000s,closingonly20percentoftheearningsgap.

Incomegapsbetweenwomenaremuchsmaller,withthemedianwhitewomanearningaround10

percentmorethanthemedianblackwomaninthe1970sand4percentmoreinthe2000s.Turning

tofamilyincomeweseethattheaveragefamilyincomeforblackshaslargelyparalleledrisesinwhite

incomes,andhencetherehasbeenverylittlenarrowingoftheblack‐whiteincomegap.Inthe1970s,

medianblackfamilyincomewas58percentofthatofwhites,andinthe200sithadrisenonlyto64

percent.Finally,theblackpovertyratehasdeclinedsomewhat,yetblackfamiliesarestillaboutthree

timesaslikelyaswhitefamiliestobelivinginpoverty.Thus,theblack‐whitewell‐beinggaphas

narroweddespiteslowprogressinthenarrowingoftheblack‐whiteincomegap.

Thereare,ofcourse,manyotherdifferencesbetweenblackandwhitefamiliesthatmightaffect

thesubjectivewell‐beingofeach.Table2providesasummaryofchangesinthelivesofblacksand

whitesfromthe1970stothe2000s.Overthisperiodthepercentageofblacksdroppingoutofhigh

schoolfellbothabsolutelyandrelativetowhites,whilethepercentageenrolledincollegeandthe

proportionwithabachelor’sdegreerose.Howeveralargeracialdisparityineducationremains.

Similarly,weseethatwhilethelifeexpectancyofblacksincreasedoverthisperiod,italsoincreased

amongwhites,andalargeracialgapinlifeexpectancypersists.Inthe1970swhiteslivedanaverage

of6.8yearslongerthanblacks,andthatgaphadshrunkto5.3bythe2000s.Finally,theracialgapin

incarcerationoverthisperiodhasgrownforbothmenandwomen,somethingwewillinvestigate

furtherinsection3.

Thus,therehavebeensomeimportantchangesintheobjectiveindicatorsofblackwell‐being,

andsoitisimportanttoassesshowcontrollingforthesechangesimpactstheestimatedtrendsinthe

racialgapinwell‐being.Inotherwords,wewanttoassessifblacksandwhiteshavebecomemore

similarintermsofreportedsubjectivewell‐beingsimplybecausethecircumstancesoftheirliveshave

becomemoresimilar.InthethirdcolumnofTable1,weaddcontrolsforownandparents’education,

religion,employmentstatus,maritalbehavior,children,region,age,andsexinadditiontocontrolling

forincome.13Totheextentthatthesecharacteristicsareassociatedwithsubjectivewell‐beingand

12StevensonandWolfers(2008a)findthatthecross‐sectionalgradientoftherelationshipbetweenhappinessandlogincomeisaround.3inmostdatasetsandis.2intheGSS.13Oursocioeconomiccontrolsincludeindicatorvariablesforgender,age(bydecade),employmentstatus(full‐andpart‐time,temporaryillness/vacation/strike,unemployed,retired,inschool,keepinghouse,orother),maritalstatus(married,widowed,divorced,separated,ornevermarried),highestdegreeearnedbythe

9

differintheirprevalenceacrossthepopulationbyrace,theymayaccountforsomeoftheestimated

differenceinsubjectivewell‐beingbetweenblacksandwhites.However,whilemanyofthesecontrols

arehighlycorrelatedwithwell‐being,inmanycasesthissimplyreflectstheunderlyingwell‐beingof

thepeoplechoosingaparticularlifecircumstance.Forexample,whilemarriedpeoplearetypically

happierthanthosewhoarenotmarried,muchofthisrelationshipisduetohappierpeoplebeingmore

likelytomarry(StevensonandWolfers2007).Further,therehasbeenchangingselectionthrough

timeintoemployment,education,andmarriage.Thus,whileblackshavebecomelesslikelytomarry

overthisperiod(bothabsolutelyandrelativetomaritalbehaviorbywhites),itisdifficulttoknowif

(orbyhowmuch)thismayhavechangedtheirsubjectivewell‐being(IsenandStevenson2010).

Inthefourthcolumnweallowtherelationshipbetweenthecontrolsandwell‐beingtovaryby

race,andthusweinteractallofthecontrolswithrace.Thisspecificationyieldssimilarresultstothose

seenincolumn3wherecontrolsarenotallowedtovarybyrace.Thereare,however,important

differencesintherelationshipbetweenwell‐beingandmanyofthesecontrolsbyrace.Wewillreturn

todiscussingtheseinsectionIVasweexploretrendsseparatelybydemographicgroups.

Incolumn5,wealsoallowfordifferentwell‐beingtrendsbasedoneachofthese

characteristics,byalsointeractingeachofourcontrolswithtimetrends.Whiletherearesome

importanttimetrendsthatdifferbygroup—suchasthedeclineinwomen’swell‐beingrelativeto

men’soverthisperiod,asnotedbyStevensonandWolfers(2009),andawideningofeducation

differentialsdocumentedinStevensonandWolfers(2008b)—accountingforthesetrendsdoesnot

muchchangeourconclusions.

Comparingthesevariousestimates,wefindthatcontrollingformeasurabledifferencesinthe

livesofblacksandwhitesexplainsaboutone‐thirdoftheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapinthe1970s,and

muchofthisisduetothedifferencesinincomebetweenblacksandwhites.Turningtothetrendsover

timeweseethatlittleofthechangeovertimeisexplainedbythecontrols.Inallspecificationsthe

black‐whitewell‐beinggap—measuredrelativetothestandarddeviationofwell‐being—isclosingata

rateofabout0.5percentury.However,thisrelativechangeiscomposedofbothadecreaseinthe

well‐beingofwhitesandanincreaseinthewell‐beingofblacks.Thedecreaseinthewell‐beingof

respondentandhisorherparents(lessthanhighschool,highschool,associatesdegreeorjuniorcollege,bachelorsdegree,orgraduatedegree),religion(Protestant,Catholic,Jewish,other,ornone),andninecensusregions.

10

whitesislargeroncecontrolsforobjectiveindicatorsaretakenintoaccount.14Finally,whiletheracial

gapinwell‐beingremainslarge,aroundtwo‐thirdsofthegapin2008canbeexplainedbydifferences

inobservablecharacteristics,comparedtoonlyone‐thirdin1972.Thissuggeststhattherehavebeen

improvementsinsubjectivewell‐beingforblacksovertimethataredistinctfromchangesintheir

objectivecircumstances.

III. Robustness 

Beforeweturntoamoregranularanalysisofthetrendsinwell‐beingacrossdifferentgroups

byrace,itisworthcheckingtoseewhethertheobservedracialdifferencesholdacrossalternative

measuresofwell‐being,potentialsampleselectionproblems,andotherdatasets.

Examining the distribution of well‐being 

Thefirstalternativemeasureofwell‐beingsimplyconsidersthoseinthetopandbottomofthe

well‐beingdistributionintheGSSseparately.Columns6and7ofTable1turntoprobitregressions

analyzingindicatorsforwhethertherespondentis“veryhappy”or“nottoohappy,”respectively.In

ordertoretaincomparabilitywiththeearlierregressions,wereportrawprobitcoefficients,which

describethechangesinastandardizedlatentwell‐beingvariable.

Column6showsthatwhiteshavebecomelesslikelytoreportbeingveryhappyovertime,

whileblackshavebecomemorelikelytodoso(albeitnotstatisticallysignificantlyso).Overtimethis

hasledtoastatisticallysignificantclosureoftheracialgapinself‐reportingasbeingveryhappy,and

thedifferenceintheestimatedtimetrendssuggeststhatthiswell‐beinggapisdecliningby0.6ofa

standarddeviationper100years,amagnitudethatissimilartoearlierregressionsthatexaminedthe

completesetofresponsecategories.Thesecoefficientsimplythatin1972,blackswere16percentage

pointslesslikelythanwhitestoreportbeingveryhappy,andby2008,thisgaphadhalved,withblacks

8percentagepointslesslikelytoreportbeingveryhappy.

Turningtothebottomofthescale,weseethatblackshavebecomelesslikelyovertimeto

reportbeingnottoohappy,whiletherehasbeenlittlechangeinthelikelihoodthatwhitesreport

beinginthiscategory.Thesecoefficientsimplythatin1972,blackswere12.5percentagepointsmore

likelythanwhitestoreportbeingnottoohappyandthisdifferenceshrinksbyaboutathirdto8.7

14ManyscholarsnotethattheUnitedStateshasnothadthehappinessgainsthatwouldbeexpectedgivenincreasesinincome(see,forexample,StevensonandWolfers2008b;BlanchflowerandOswald2004;Easterlin1995).

11

percentagepoints,in2008.Theracialgapinreportingbeing“nottoohappy”isclosingby0.3ofa

standarddeviationper100years,amagnitudethatissmallerthanthatseenforthe“veryhappy”

category,butstatisticallyindistinguishablefromouroverallestimatesandstillsuggestiveofarolefor

improvementsatthebottomaswellasthetopofthedistributioninthenarrowingoftheracialgapin

well‐being.

The impact of incarceration 

TheGSSstrivestoincludearepresentativesampleoftheadulthouseholdpopulationeachyear,

butbyfocusingonhouseholds,thesamplemissesthoselivingingroupquarters,includinginstitutions.

Theperiodweareexaminingcoincideswithalarge,andraciallyunbalanced,increaseinincarceration.

Inturn,thismeansthattheGSSsamplingframemayhavebecomeincreasinglyunrepresentativeofthe

aggregateU.S.blackpopulation.Togaugetheseriousnessofthisconcern,wecollecteddataonblack

andwhiteincarcerationandinstitutionalizationratessincethe1970s;thesedataareshowninFigure

3.DuringtheGSSsampleperiod(1972‐2008)theproportionoftheadultpopulationthatwas

incarceratedroseamongwhitesfrom0.2percentto0.4percent,whileahigherrateamongblacksof

1.0percentofthepopulationmorethantripledto3.4percent.Incarcerationratesaremuchhigherfor

certainsubgroupsofthepopulation—particularlyformenrelativetowomenandfortheyoung

relativetotheold.

Ourconcernisthatthosewhoareatriskforincarcerationmaybetheleasthappymembersof

societyandthereforeasincarcerationratesrose,alargerproportionofunhappypeople(and

particularly,unhappyblacks)mayhavebeenremovedfromthesamplingframe,mechanicallyraising

theaveragelevelsofwell‐beingamongthoseblackswhoweresurveyed.Toboundthemaximum

extentofthiseffectweaddbacktotheGSSsampletheproportionofbothblacksandwhiteswhoare

missingbecauseofincarceration,andassignallofthesepeopleahappinessscoreof“nottoohappy”—

thelowesthappinesscategory.15Figure4reportstheresultsofthisexercise,showingboththealready

15Estimatesoftheincarceratedpopulationineachyeararecollectedfromseveralsources,asthereisnosingledataseriesthatmeasurestheincarceratedovertime.Westartwiththe1970and1980censusesofpopulation,fromwhichweestimatethesizeoftheinstitutionalizedadultpopulationincorrectionalfacilitiesandthendividebytherelevantadultpopulation,linearlyinterpolatingtoobtainannualestimatesfor1970to1979.From1980to2008,werelyonWesternandPetit(2009)whoconstructannualestimatesforblacksandwhitesofthenumberofpeopleages18‐64whoarecurrentlyincarcerated.TheirdataarebuiltfromBureauofJusticeStatisticsestimatesofthepenalpopulationsacrosslocaljailsandstateandfederalcorrectionalfacilities,aswellassurveysoftheinmatepopulations.(WhileWesternandPettitmeasureonlytheincarceratedpopulationunder65yearsofage,Sabol,WestandCooper[2009]estimatethatin2008onlyaround1percentofallprisonersunderstateorfederaljurisdictionwere65orolder.)Inordertoestimateincarcerationrates,wesimplydivideWesternandPettit’sincarcerationnumbersbyestimatesofthetotaladultpopulationbyrace,

12

reportedhappinesslevelsofblacksandwhites,andjustbeloweachline,ourestimatesofthelower

boundthatresultsfromaddingbackintheincarceratedpopulation.Forwhites,thetwolinesare

imperceptiblydifferent(reflectingthelowincarcerationrate),whileforblacks,awedgeemerges

throughtime.Takingaccountofthepossibleeffectsofrisingincarcerationresultsinaslightlysmaller

closingofthewell‐beinggap—itclosesby0.4percenturyratherthan0.5.Thus,thenotionthat

growingincarcerationratesmayexplainuptoafifthoftheclosingofthewell‐beinggaprepresentsan

upperboundontheextentofthiseffect.16Thisexercise,however,doesnotconsiderhowhighratesof

incarcerationmaybeimpactingthewell‐beingofthosenotincarcerated,andwewillreturntothis

questionwhenweexaminewell‐beingbyraceamongvarioussocioeconomicandagecategories.

Alternative datasets 

Inourfinalsetofrobustnesschecks,weturntoconsideringalternativedatasetswithvarying

measuresofsubjectivewell‐beinganddifferentsurveymodes.AsHerbst(2012)describes,theDDB

NeedhamLifeStylesurveys—whichareconductedbymail—provideausefulalternativeindicatorof

subjectivewell‐beingformuchofthisperiod.Thissurveybeganin1975andhassincerunannually

witharound3,500respondentseachyear.However,before1985thesampleconsistedonlyof

marriedhouseholds.From1985onwardthesampleisarepresentativesampleofallU.S.households

andincludesalifesatisfactionquestionaskingona6‐pointscalehowmuchrespondentsagreeor

disagreewiththestatement“Iamverysatisfiedwiththewaythingsaregoinginmylifethesedays.”17

Figure5summarizesthesedata,illustratingverysimilarpatternstothoseseenwiththeGSS.Inthe

mid‐1980s,therewasalargeblack‐whitesubjectivewell‐beinggap,equaltoabout0.4ofastandard

deviation;subsequentlythesatisfactionofwhiteshasfallenslightly,whilethesubjectivewell‐beingof

blackshasrisenstrongly,closingmuchoftheblack‐whitesatisfactiongap.Becauseofthelater

startingdateofthissurvey,theabsoluteclosingofthewell‐beinggapoverthedurationofthesurveyis

somewhatlessthanthatseenintheGSS,butthepointestimateoftherateofchangeismorerapid.

Finally,toinvestigatethemostrecentdata,weturntotheBehavioralRiskFactorSurveillance

System(BRFSS),whichhasasked1.9millionpeopleabouttheirlifesatisfactionsince2005.The

BRFSSasks“Ingeneral,howsatisfiedareyouwithyourlife?”withpossibleresponsesof:very

satisfied,satisfied,dissatisfied,orverydissatisfied.Thesedatasuggestthatrecentyearshaveseena

whichwegeneratebyinterpolatingdecadalpopulationestimatesaggregatedfromthe1980‐2000IntegratedPublicUseMicrodataSeries,andthenthe2001‐8AmericanCommunitySurvey.16Assumingthatallthoseleftoutwereveryhappywouldestablishtheupperboundofourestimate.17Thesurveybeganincludingthelifesatisfactionquestionin1983.Sincethereareonly2years,1983and1984,inwhichsatisfactiondatawerecollectedforthemarriedonlysample,wesimplybeginouranalysiswiththefullpopulationin1985.

13

continuationofthelonger‐runtrendsevidentinearlierfigures.Aswithourothersamples,the

estimatedblack‐whitewell‐beinggapoverthisperiodisaroundone‐fifthtoone‐quarterofastandard

deviation.Moreover,thesedataalsosuggestthattheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapcontinuedtoclose

between2005and2010—ouranalysisshowsaclosingoftheracialgapoverthisperiodof.29ofa

standarddeviationpercentury.However,theshorttimeperiodmakesitdifficulttoestimatethiswith

anyprecisionandthestandarderroronthatestimateis.17.18Thisricherrecentsampledoes,

however,stronglysuggestthattherecentdownwardblipinmeasuredblackwell‐beingseenintheGSS

dataislikelyduetosimplesamplingerror.

Wenowturntobreakingthesetrendsapartbyvariousdemographicandsocioeconomic

groupstoinvestigatefurtherwhichgroupsexperiencedthelargestgainsinwell‐beingforblacksand

themostclosureoftheracialwell‐beinggap.

IV. Who Gained?  

Inordertoconsiderhowwell‐beinghaschangedamongvariousgroups,takingaccountofthe

manychangesinthelifecircumstancesofAmericans,weturntowardestimatingaregressionthat

disaggregatesourmainfindingsfromtheGSSandsimultaneouslytakesaccountofhowwell‐beinghas

changedfordifferentsub‐groupsofblacksandwhites.Thus,were‐estimateequation[1]butinteract

eachofthetermswithafamilyofdummyvariablesindicatingwhethertherespondentisamemberof

variousage,gender,region,urban,education,income,employmentandmaritalstatusgroups:

18Figureanddataanalysisareavailablefromtheauthors.

14

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[2] 

Weareparticularlyinterestedinevaluatingthedifferentialblack‐whitetrendswithineach

group,andthisapproachallowsustodothiswhilecontrollingforthedifferentialtrendsaffecting

blacksandwhitesinothergroups,too.Itcanbedifficulttodirectlyinterpretanyregressioninvolving

somanyinteractionterms.Forinstance,predictedgrowthinwell‐beingforablackwomandepends

notonlyon butalsoonherassumedothercharacteristics,eachmultipliedbytherelevant s

Webeginbyreportingtheimpliedblack‐whitewell‐beinggapsatboththebeginningandendofour

sampleforsomeonewithsampleaveragecharacteristics(apartfromraceandtime).Usingthewhole‐

sampleaverage—ratherthandifferentaveragesforblacksandwhites—ensuresthatourresultsare

notaffectedbythedifferentcompositionoftheblackandwhitepopulations.Theimpliedracialgapin

well‐beingfor1972isreportedinthefirstcolumnofTable3,andthegapin2008isreportedinthe

secondcolumn.Wereportthedifferencebetweenthetwo,whichistheamountthattheracialgap

closedovertheperiod,inthethirdcolumn.

Butnoneofthistellsuswhetherchangesinthegapweredrivenbychangesinthewell‐beingof

blacks,whites,oracombinationofboth.Forthis,weevaluate and for

someonewiththesampleaveragecharacteristics.Theserace‐specifictimetrendsarereportedinthe

15

fourthandfifthcolumnsandshowstandarddeviationchangesinwell‐beingpercentury.Thus,the

trendinthechangeintheblack‐whitewell‐beinggap,percentury,isthedifferencebetweenthetwo

columns,reportedinthesixthcolumn.Notethatthethirdcolumnissimplythesixthcolumndivided

by100(toconvertitintoperyearchanges)andmultipliedbythenumberofyearsthathavepassed

(36).

In1972,theracialgapinwell‐beingwaslargestamongwomen,theyoung,thoselivinginthe

South,collegegraduates,thoseinthetophalfoftheincomedistribution,thenon‐employed,andthe

married.By2008,somethingsremainedthesame—thosewithmoreeducationandincomestillfaced

largewell‐beinggaps.However,theracialgapinwell‐beingamongwomenwaseliminated,whilehalf

oftheracialgapamongmenremained.Whiletheearlyperiodexperiencedlargeracialgapsinwell‐

beingamongpeopleofallages,differencesintheracialgapacrosspeopleofvariousagesemergedby

2008,withalargewell‐beinggappersistingfortheyoung(ages18‐29).Thelargestgainsinwell‐

beingwereintheSouth,erasingthelargeracialgapinwell‐beingthatwaspresentin1972.

Letusturntoconsideringthesechangesinmoredetail.Focusingonwomen,weseethata

racialwell‐beinggapof.4ofastandarddeviationwasnearlyerasedoverthedecades.Thisoccurred

bothbecauseblackwomenbecamehappier—byaround.2ofastandarddeviationoverthe36year

period(.006ayear)—andbecausewhitewomenbecamelesshappybyaround.15ofastandard

deviation(‐.004ayear).19Alargerwell‐beinggapremainsamongmen,bothbecauseblackmales’

well‐beingroseslightlyless—by.13ofastandarddeviation—andbecausetherewasnodeclineinthe

well‐beingofwhitemen.Insum,subjectivewell‐beingappearstohaverisenmorestronglyforblack

womenthanblackmen,anoutcomethatisconsistentwithotherindicatorsofeconomicandsocial

progress.

Turningtothetrendsbyageweseethatthoseages18‐29andthoseages30‐44hadthe

largestracialgapsinwell‐being:withineachgroupblackswereabout.4ofastandarddeviationless

happythanwhites.Blacksinthesetwoagegroupsalsohadthelargestabsolutewell‐beinggains,with

thewell‐beingofblacksages18‐29increasingby.3ofastandarddeviationovertheperiod.However,

thewell‐beingofyoungwhitesalsoroseand,assuch,thewell‐beinggapclosedbyonly.18ofa

standarddeviation.

19StevensonandWolfers(2009)discusstrendsinwomen’shappinessindetailanddocumenttheseracialdifferencesinthetrendsinwomen’shappiness.

16

Thatyoungblackshadthelargestgainsinwell‐beingisperhapssomewhatsurprisinggiventhe

highratesofincarcerationamongthisagegroupandraisessuspicionsaboutthefactthatthose

incarceratedarenotinoursample.However,recallsectionIIthataccountingforthemissing

incarceratedindividualshadlittleimpactonourresults.Moreover,thesearechangesbyage

conditionalonchangesbyeducationandincome,amongotherthings.Whenwelookattheraw

trendsand,mostimportant,whenwebreaktheagetrendsdownbygender,weseethattheproblems

facingyoungblackmenareindeedimpactingtheirwell‐being.Figure6showsthatamongblacks,

youngmenhavebecomelesshappyoverthisperiodandaretheonlyagegrouptofacesubstantial

well‐beinglossesandforwhichtheracialgapinwell‐beingactuallygrew.

Figure6pointstolargewell‐beinggainsamongyoungandprimeageblackwomenandgains

formenages30‐44.Returningtotheregressionresults,weseethatclosingoftheracialgapinwell‐

beingforthoseages30‐44occurredbothbecauseblacksbecamehappierandbecausewhitesofthat

agegroupbecamelesshappy.Amongthoseages45‐59,theracialgapinwell‐beingclosedeven

thoughblacksinthisagegroupbecamelesshappy,becausetheirwell‐beinglossesweresmallerthan

thoseexperiencedbywhites.ThisresultisseenequallyformenandwomeninFigure6.Turningto

thoseover60,weseearacialgapinwell‐beingin2008inwhichblackswerestatisticallysignificantly

happierthanwhites.Thisreversaloccurredbecauseblacksinthisagegroupbecamehappier,while

whitesinthisagegroupbecamelesshappy.Thesedivergenttrendsbroughtaboutthelargestchange

intheracialwell‐beinggap,withaclosureinthegapofnearly.5ofastandarddeviation.Itshouldbe

notedthatwhilethisisnotacohortassessment,examiningthoseover60in2008showsthattheracial

gapinwell‐beinghasbeeneliminatedamongthosewholivedthroughthecivilrightsstruggles.

Wenotedatthestartofthissectionthatwell‐beinggapswerelargestforthosewiththemost

educationandincomein1972.20Yetthiswaslargelytrueattheendofthesampleaswell.Butthisis

notbecausetherewasnochange.Overtheensuingdecadesthewell‐beinggainswerelargestamong

collegeeducatedblacks,withlittlechangeinthewell‐beingofcollege‐educatedwhites.However,by

2008theracialwell‐beinggapwasstilllargestamongthosewithacollegedegreeormore,sincethat

gapbeganasthelargest.Moreover,asmallergaininwell‐beingamongblackswithonlyahighschool

20Recallthatwearemeasuringfamilyincomeconvertedto2005dollars.Thedollaramountsareperhouseholdequivalent,wherethefirstadultcountsforone,additionaladultscountfor.5,andchildrencountfor.3.Thisisdonetoadjustforanyrolethatchangeinfamilysizemayhaveoninterpretingfamilyincomeovertime.Theincomebreaksweuseareselectedtoroughlydividethesampleintoquartiles.

17

educationwascombinedwithdecliningwell‐beingamongwhiteswithonlyahighschooleducation,

resultinginaclosingoftheracialgapinwell‐beingamonghighschoolgraduates.

Turningtoincome,weseethatthewell‐beinggainswerelargestforthoseinthethirdincome

quintile.Blacksinthisincomecategoryhadlargewell‐beinggains,whichcombinedwithwell‐being

lossesamongwhitestocompletelyeliminatetheracialgapinwell‐beingofnearlyhalfastandard

deviation.Theracialgapinwell‐beingremainslargestamongthosewiththemostincome.While

blacksinthetopincomecategorybecamehappierovertime,sodidthosewithlessincome.Thosein

thebottomtwoquartilesandthetopquartileallexperiencedadeclineinthewell‐beinggapof.18ofa

standarddeviation.Sincethewell‐beinggapwaslargestforthosewiththemostincomein1972,it

wasalsolargestforthisgroupin2008.

Figure7furtherillustratestherelationshipbetweenincomeandwell‐being.Itshowsthe

relationshipbetweenincomeandwell‐being,notconditionalonotherfactorssuchaseducationand

age,bothofwhichareimportantinputsintoincome.Whilebothblacksandwhiteswithmoreincome

arehappierthanthosewithless,well‐beinglevelsrosemoresteeplywithincomeamongwhitesinthe

1970s.Asaresult,theracialgapinwell‐beinggrewwithincome.Itispossiblethatdiscriminatory

barriersinspendingmoney—beingexcludedfromrestaurants,hotels,orsocialclubsforthewell‐to‐

do—reducedtheabilityofextraincometogeneratefurthergainsforblacks.Overtheensuing

decades,however,thegapclosedandtheunconditionalrelationshipbetweenincomeandwell‐being

steepenedforblackssuchthatbythe2000s,theunconditionalmappingofincomeandwell‐beingwas

thesameforblacksandwhites,althoughwhitesremainedslightlyhappierateachlevelofincome.

Ifexclusionfromplacesofbusinessisplayingaroleforthewell‐to‐do,exclusionand

discriminationingeneralmightbeimpactingallblacksmostnotablyintheSouth.Arguablythe

antidiscriminationmeasuresusheredinduringthecivilrightserahadtheirlargestimpactinthe

South.DonohueandHeckman(1991)arguetheSouthwastheareathatbothresistedandwas

affectedthemostbythefederalactivitysurroundingthecivilrightsmovement.21Indeed,weseethat

inthe1970stheracialgapinwell‐beingwaslargestintheSouth.BlacksintheSouthwerenearlya

halfofastandarddeviationlesshappythanwhites,comparedtodifferencesofbetween.2and.3ofa

standarddeviationinotherregions.

21DonohueandHeckman(1991,p.1605)arguethat“federalactivitywasimposedontheSouthandhaditsgreatestapparenteffectintheregionthatresisteditthemost.”

18

Overthe36yearsofthesampleperiod,thewell‐beinggainsamongblacksweregreatestinthe

Southwithblacksbecominghappieratarateof.009ofastandarddeviationperyear,foratotalgainof

athirdofastandarddeviationinwell‐being.IncontrastwhitesintheSouthbecamesomewhatless

happy.By2008,therewasanegligiblegapof.01ofastandarddeviationgapinblack‐whitewell‐

being.

Itmaybethatmoresubtleformsofracialdiscriminationtookdecadestoplayoutfollowingthe

legislationusheredinbythecivilrightsmovement.WeexamineddataonracialattitudesfromtheGSS

andfoundthatmeasuresofprejudicesuchasnotbeingwillingtovoteforablackpresident,favoring

lawsagainstinter‐racialmarriage,andsupportingsegregatedneighborhoodsweremuchhigherinthe

Souththanintherestofthecountry.Figure8showsthatintheearly1970smorethanhalfof

Southernerssupportedtherightsofwhitestohavesegregatedneighborhoodsandfavoredlaws

againstracialintermarriage.Almosthalfsaidthattheywouldnotvoteforablackpresident.In

contrast,10‐20percentinotherregionssaidthattheywouldnotvoteforablackpresident,and20‐40

percentfavoredlawsagainstracialintermarriageandsupportedtherighttosegregated

neighborhoods.Overtimethesemeasuresofprejudicehavedeclinedthroughoutthecountry.

However,thedeclineshavebeengreatestintheSouth.Thegraphsshowthatwhileformallaws

reducingdiscriminationtookeffectatapointintime,ithastakendecadesforracialattitudesto

change.Whiletheselawsmayhavebeenthecatalystfordeclinesinprejudice,timewasanecessary

ingredienttocompletethechange.

DonohueandHeckman(1991)pointtotheimportanceofnorthernmigrationofblacksoutof

theSouthinimprovementsforblacksuntilthemid‐1960s,butarguethatsuchmigrationaccountsfor

littleofthepost‐1964change.Changesinthemigrationpatternsareperhapsthemostconvincing

evidencethattheclosingoftheracialgapinsubjectivewell‐beingindicatesthatlifeforblacksinthe

Southisnowonparwiththatofwhitesofsimilarbackgrounds.Forthe35yearspriortothelate

1990s,themigrationflowwasanetoutflowofblacksfromtheSouth.Thatpatternreversedinthelate

1990s,andtheSouthbegantoexperienceanetinflowofblacks(Frey2004).

Thelastthingthatweconsiderarechangesinwell‐beingbymaritalstatus.Weincludethis

discussionbecausemarriagepatternsofblacksandwhiteshavedivergedsubstantiallyoverthepast4

decades.Blacksarenowmuchlesslikelythanwhitestomarry,and,iftheydomarryanddivorce,they

arelesslikelytoremarry.Theyalsohavechildrenatyoungeragesandmoreoftenoutofwedlock

(IsenandStevenson2010).However,itshouldbenotedthatsubjectivewell‐beingisbothafunction

oftheindividual’spersonalityandhisorherreactiontolifeevents.Assuch,correlationsbetweenlife

19

outcomesandwell‐beingmaynotbecausal.Forexample,onereasonthatmarriedpeoplereport

substantiallygreaterwell‐beingthanunmarriedpeopleinacrosssectionisbecausehappypeopleare

morelikelythanunhappypeopletomarry(StevensonandWolfers2007).Itmaybethattherehave

beenimportantchangesintheunderlyingwell‐beingofblackswhochoosetomarrycomparedto

blackswhodonotmarry.Thesecompositionchangescouldpotentiallyexplainallofthedifferences

thatweseebymaritalstatus.Thusanalyzingtrendsbymaritalstatusmaynotbeinformativeabout

theroleofchangingmaritalbehaviorinchangesinreportedsubjectivewell‐being.Withthatcaveat

weexaminedifferencesinthewell‐beingtrendsbymaritalstatusandfindthattheracialgapinwell‐

beingwaslargestamongmarriedindividualsin1972(seeTable3).Wealsoseethatmarriedblacks

havehadthelargestgainsinwell‐beingandthis,combinedwithasmalldeclineinthewell‐beingof

marriedwhites,hasledtoaneliminationoftheracialgapinwell‐beingamongthemarried.Thewell‐

beinggapisnowlargestforthosewhoarewidowed,atone‐thirdofastandarddeviation.Bothblacks

andwhiteswhonevermarriedbecamelesshappyoverthedecadesandtherewaslittlechangeinthe

racialgapinwell‐beingamongthem.

Weconcludeourinvestigationbyconsideringracialgapsinvariousdomainsofwell‐being.

TheGSSassessespeople’ssatisfactionwiththeirfamily,friends,job,finances,city,andhealth.Looking

attheracialgaps,wefindlittlechangeovertimeinsatisfactionwithfamily,despitethechangesin

familypatternsbyrace.Similarly,weseelittlechangeintheracialgapinsatisfactionwithpeople’sjob

orfinances.Theonedomaininwhichthereisaclearclosingoftheracialgapishealthsatisfaction.

Blacks’subjectivelyassessedhealthimprovedthroughouttheperiod,asdidtheirsatisfactionwith

theirhealth.Ashealthscholarshavenotedthereisstillagapinhealthoutcomesbyrace,butequally

important,thegainsoverthisperiodwerelarge.

V. Conclusion 

Wehaveshownthattheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapdeclinedfrom1972to2008byanamount

thatisbothstatisticallysignificantandeconomicallymeaningful.Inthe1970sblackswerenearlyhalf

ofastandarddeviationlesshappythanwhites,andtwo‐thirdsofthisgapcannotbeexplainedby

conditioningondifferencesinthemeasuredlivesofblacksandwhites.Whileeconomistshave

lamentedthelargedifferencesinhouseholdincomebyrace,scientistsinotherfieldshavenotedthat

socioeconomicdifferencesalonecannotexplaintheoftenlargeracialdifferencesinwell‐being.Blacks

haveworsephysicalandmentalhealthalonganumberofdimensionsthancanbeexplainedby

20

differencesinobjectivemeasuressuchasincomeoreducation.22Forexample,Franksetal.(2006)

findthatsocioeconomicdifferencesbetweenblacksandwhitesexplainonlyhalfoftheracial

differenceinmortality.Pamuketal(1998)findresidualdifferencesinself‐ratedhealth,hypertension,

obesity,andinfantmortalityafterconditioningonsocioeconomicstatus.

Thisresearchcontributestothesefindingsbyhighlightingthelargedifferencesinsubjective

well‐beingbyrace.Consistentwiththehealthliterature,wealsofindalargeunexplainedracial

differenceinsatisfactionwithhealth,butfind,similartoourfindingsonoverallwell‐being,thatthis

unexplainedracialdifferencehasdeclinedoverthepast35years.Whilethereremainsalargeracial

gapinwell‐being,muchofthepresentgapcanbeexplainedbydifferencesintheobjectiveconditions

ofthelivesofblackandwhiteAmericans.

Somerecentscholarshavepointedtothesuccessesofthecivilrightsagendainreducinghealth

disparities,whilenotingthat“unfinishedpartsofthecivilrights–eraagenda,thepersistenceofmore

subtleformsofsegregation,andthefailuretoassurenondiscriminatorytreatmentposemajor

challengestocurrenteffortstoeliminatehealthcaredisparities”(Smith2005,p.317).Wehaveshown

thattherehavebeenlargedeclinesinprejudicialattitudesovertimeandthesedeclinesappeartobe

associatedwithimprovementsinthesubjectivewell‐beingofblacks.Howeverthereremains

prejudicetodayand,alongwithit,aracialgapinwell‐being,someofwhich,aswithhealthdisparities,

mayhaveitsexplanationintheunfinishedpartsofthecivil‐rightseraagenda.

However,therearesomeimportantcaveatstoconsider.Recallthatsomeoftherelative

changeintheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapisdrivenbyadecreaseinthewell‐beingofwhites,

particularlywhenwecontrolforobjectiveindicators.Thisraisesaquestionastowhywhiteshave

becomelesshappyandwhethertheconditionsthathaveledtotheirdecliningsubjectivewell‐being

shouldhavehadthesameeffectonblacks.Inotherwords,havetherebeenimprovementsinthe

welfareofblacksthathaveprotectedthemagainstgeneralsocietaltrendsthathavereducedwell‐

being?Orhaveblacksbeenunaffectedbythesocietaltrendsthathaveharmedthewell‐beingof

whites?

InourpreviousresearchwehaveshownthatthedeclineinAmericanwell‐beingamongwhites

isconcentratedamongwhitewomen(StevensonandWolfers2009).Incontrast,Americanwhitemen

havehadlittlechangeintheirreportedwell‐beingoverthepast35years.Inthatresearchwenote

22WilliamsandMohammed(2009)presentameta‐analysisoftheliteraturefromthemid‐2000sexaminingracialdiscriminationandhealthoutcomes.

21

thatthesetrendsmayreflectsocietaltrendsthathaveimpactedwomendifferentlyfrommen.

Similarly,thesetrendsmayhaveimpactedwhitewomendifferentlyfromblacks.Alternatively,these

trendsmayreflectbroadsocialtrendsthatshifthowweshouldinterpretpeople’sanswersto

subjectivewell‐beingquestions.Forinstance,satisfactionathomemayhavebeenamoreimportant

componentoflifesatisfactionforwomeninthepast.Aswomen’sliveshavechanged,somayhave

theirinterpretationoftheirwell‐being.Again,thereisaparallelpossibilitytoconsiderininterpreting

ourresultshere:thatthemeaningofwell‐beinghasshiftedforblacksalongwiththeirchangingsocial

situation.If,forexample,risingexpectationsareplayingaroleindampeningwell‐beingforblacks,

thenthiswouldimplythatthetrueincreaseinsubjectivewell‐beingforblacksisevenlargerthanwe

havemeasured.Finally,itissimplypossiblethatourresultscapturethepartialimprovement,beyond

objectivemeasures,inthelivesofblacksintheUnitedStatesoverthepast35years.

22

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Deaton,Angus.2008."Income,HealthandWellbeingAroundtheWorld:EvidencefromtheGallupWorldPoll"JournalofEconomicPrespectives,Spring,vol.22,iss.2,53‐72.

Donohue,JohnJ.,III,andHamesHeckman.1991.ContinuousversusEpisodicChange:TheImpactofCivilRightsPolicyontheEconomicStatusofBlacks.JournalofEconomicLiterature,29(4),1603‐1643.

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Franks,Peter,PeterMuennig,EricaLubetkin,andHaomiaoJia.2006.TheburdenofdiseaseassociatedwithbeingAfrican‐AmericanintheUnitedStatesandtheContributionofSocioeconomicStatus.SocialScience&Medicine,62(10),2469‐2478.

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Figures—1

Figure1:SubjectiveWell‐beingintheUnitedStatesbyRace,1972‐2008

Data:GeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.Notes:Orderedhappinesscategories(3=“Veryhappy”,2=“prettyhappy”and1=“nottoohappy”aretreatedascardinalvalues,andthenstandardizedtohaveawhole‐samplemeanofzero,andastandarddeviationofone.Figureshowsaveragevaluesineachsurveyround,forblacksandwhites,aswellastheblack‐whitewell‐beinggap,andthetrendinthatgap.

-.449

-.269

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

Sta

ndar

dize

d ha

ppin

ess

inde

x

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Average: Blacks Average: Whites

Black-white happiness gap 95% confidence interval

Taken all together, how would you say things are these days,would you say that you are: very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?

Trend in black-white happiness gap: 0.498 per century [se=0.198]

Figures—2

Figure2:SubjectiveWell‐BeingandIncome

Data:U.S.GeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.

Notes:Wegroupthedatainto20equally‐spacedbins,basedonannualrealfamilyincomeperequivalenthousehold,andthedotsshowtheaveragewell‐beingandincome,foreachofthesegroups.Theregressionlineisfitfromaregressiononallindividuals,regressingwell‐beingonlogofthisincomevariable,controllingforafullsetofdummyvariablesforage,sexandrace,andtheirsecondandthird‐levelinteractions.

-0.4

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Sta

ndar

dize

d ha

ppin

ess

inde

x

$2k $4k $8k $16k $32k $64k $128kAnnual family income per equivalent household ($2005; Log Scale)

Average happiness and incomefor each 5% of income distribution

Regression line:Happiness = 0.186 * log(Family Income)Controlling for age*sex*race interactions

Figures—3

Figure3:IncarcerationandInstitutionalizationRates,byRace

Data:Incarcerationandinstitutionalizationratesarecalculatedbytheauthorsusingdatafromthe1970‐2000Census;2006‐2008ACS;BJStabulationscalculatedbyWesternandPettit2009.

Notes:Seefootnote15forconstructionoftheseseries.

0.00

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

Sha

re o

f ad

ult p

opul

atio

n cu

rren

tly in

stitu

tiona

lized

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Total institutionalized population: Whites Blacks

Institutionalized in correctional facility: Whites Blacks

Incarceration rate (Western and Pettit): Whites Blacks

Spliced incarceration rate: Whites Blacks

Figures—4

Figure4:BoundingtheImpactofIncarcerationonSubjectiveWell‐being

Data:U.S.GeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.

Notes:Foreachwell‐beingseries,twolinesareshown.Theupper(thicker)lineisthemeasuredwell‐beingdataplottedinFigure1;thelower(thinner)linealsoincludesallincarceratedpeople,assumingthattheyareinthelowestcategory,“nottoohappy.”

-.449

-.269

-.459

-.326

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

Sta

ndar

dize

d ha

ppin

ess

inde

x

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Blacks Whites

Black-white happiness gap 95% confidence interval

Thin lines show averages if all prisoners are in the least happy category

Trend in black-white happiness gapRaw data: 0.498 per century [se=0.198]

Lower bound, including incarcerated: 0.371 per century [se=0.189]

Figures—5

Figure5:AnAlternativeDataset:LifeSatisfactionintheUnitedStatesbyRace,1985‐2005

Data:DDB‐NeedhamLifeStyleStudy,1985‐2005.

Notes:Orderedlifesatisfactioncategories(6=“Definitelyagree”;5=“Generallyagree”;4=“Moderatelyagree”;3=“Moderatelydisagree”;2=“Generallydisagree”;and1=“Definitelydisagree”aretreatedascardinalvalues,andthenstandardizedtohaveawhole‐samplemeanofzero,andastandarddeviationofone.Figureshowsaveragevaluesineachsurveyround,forblacksandwhites,aswellastheblack‐whitewell‐beinggap,andthetrendinthatgap.

-.431

-.267

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

Sta

ndar

dize

d lif

e sa

tisfa

ctio

n in

dex

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Average: Blacks Average: Whites

Black-white happiness gap 95% confidence interval

I am very satisfied with the way things are going in my life these days(6-point response scale; standardized)

Trend in black-white happiness gap: 0.819 per century [se=0.248]

Figures—6

Figure6:SubjectiveWell‐beingbyAgeandRaceintheUnitedStates,1972‐2008

Data:U.S.GeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

Tre

nd in

sta

ndar

dize

d ha

ppin

ess

inde

xA

nnua

l rat

e, m

ultip

led

by 1

00

Men

: 18-

29 yr

s

Wom

en: 1

8-29

yrs

Men

: 30-

44 yr

s

Wom

en: 3

0-44

yrs

Men

: 45-

59 yr

s

Wom

en: 4

5-59

yrs

Men

: 60+

yrs

Wom

en: 6

0+ yr

s

p-values denote whether there are statistically significant divergences across categories

Black happiness trend. (p=0.175)

White happiness trend (p=0.003)

Trend in black-white happiness gap: (p=0.177)

Figures—7

Figure7:Well‐beingandIncome,byRace

Data:U.S.GeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.

Whites

Blacks

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

P10 P25 P50 P75 P90P10 P25 P50 P75 P90

$4k $8k $16k $32k $64k $128k

1970sWhites

Blacks

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

P10 P25 P50 P75 P90P10 P25 P50 P75 P90

$4k $8k $16k $32k $64k $128k

1980s

Whites

Blacks

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

P10 P25 P50 P75 P90P10 P25 P50 P75 P90

$4k $8k $16k $32k $64k $128k

1990sWhites

Blacks

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

P10 P25 P50 P75 P90P10 P25 P50 P75 P90

$4k $8k $16k $32k $64k $128k

2000s

Hap

pine

ss (

Sta

ndar

dize

d sc

ale)

Annual equivalized family income ($2005)* Lines are local linear regressions of happiness on log(income) shown between the 10th and 90th percentiles of the income distribution. Shaded areas show 95% confidence intervals. Estimated using Epanechnikov kernel and rule-of-thumb bandwidth. P10, P25, P50, P75 and P90 denote the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles of the respective income distributions.

Figures—8

Figure8:TrendsinPrejudice,byRegion

Data:U.S.GeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.

0.00.10.20.30.40.5

0.00.10.20.30.40.5

1970 1980 1990 2000 1970 1980 1990 2000

Northeast Midwest

South West

Would not vote for black president

Favor law against racial intermarriage

Object to sending child to school that is half black

Whites have the right to seg. neighborhood; Y/N

Pro

port

ion

of w

hite

s ho

ldin

g ea

ch v

iew

Year

Graphs by Region

Tables—1

Table1:SubjectiveWell‐beingTrendsintheU.S.byRace,GeneralSocialSurvey(GSS)Data

, ∗ ∗ ,  

  (1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7) 

Dependent variable:(a)  Standardized happiness scores  Very happy Not too happy 

: White Time Trend  ‐0.161** 

(0.060) 

‐0.363***

(0.058) 

‐0.256***

(0.065) 

‐0.254***

(0.067) 

n.a.  ‐0.335***

(0.072) 

‐0.140 

(0.141) 

: Black Time Trend   0.337 

(0.231) 

0.093

(0.221) 

0.338 

(0.221) 

0.315

(0.247) 

0.557** 

(0.240) 

0.259 

(0.227) 

‐0.463 

(0.336) 

: Black Dummy  ‐0.449*** 

(0.037) 

‐0.354***

(0.035) 

‐0.304***

(0.033) 

n.a.  n.a.  ‐0.456***

(0.044) 

0.531*** 

(0.041) 

Implied Trends in Racial Well‐being Gap (Black‐White)(b)  

Difference in Time Trends  0.498** 

(0.198) 

0.456**

(0.187) 

0.594***

(0.180) 

0.569**

(0.213) 

0.557** 

(0.240) 

0.594***

(0.198) 

‐0.323 

(0.243) 

Racial well‐being gap in 1972  ‐0.449  ‐0.354  ‐0.304  ‐0.295  ‐0.291  ‐0.456 

[‐15.7%‐pts]

0.531 

[+12.5%‐pts] 

Racial well‐being gap in 2008  ‐0.269  ‐0.190  ‐0.090  ‐0.091  ‐0.091  ‐0.309 

[‐8.3%‐pts]

0.415 

[+8.7%‐pts] 

Control Variables(c)             

Income (c)       

Socioeconomic controls (d)       

Socioeconomic controls * race (d)         

Socioeconomic controls * time(d)           

Notes: ***,**,and*denotestatisticallysignificantcoefficientsat1%,5%and10%,respectively.(Robuststandarderrorsinparentheses;clusteredbyyear)Sample:n=47,593blackorwhiterespondentsfromtheGeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.(a)Thedependentvariablerecordsresponsestothequestion:Takenalltogether,howwouldyousaythingsarethesedays.Wouldyousaythatyouare:;[3]Veryhappy;[2]Prettyhappy;[1]Nottoohappy.”Columns1‐5reportOLSregressions,wherethedependentvariableisthestandardizedresponse( 0; 1);columns6‐7reportprobitestimatesofthelikelihoodofrespondingthemostandleasthappycategories.Thecoefficientsonthewhiteandblacktimetrendsreportthechangeinwell‐beingper100years,whiletheblackdummyreportstheblack‐whitewell‐beinggapin1972.(b)Theracialwell‐beinggapin1972,2008areprojectionsbasedonreportedcoefficients,evaluatedatsamplemeans.(c)Incomeisaquarticinlogrealfamilyincomeperequivalent(usingtheOECDmodifiedequivalencescale,householdequivalents=1+0.5(otheradults)+0.3kids),andadummyforthe10%ofrespondentswithoutvalidincomedata.(d)Socioeconomiccontrolsincludeindicatorvariablesforgender;age(bydecade);employmentstatus(fullandpart‐time,temporaryillness/vacation/strike,unemployed,retired,inschool,keepinghouse,andother);maritalstatus(married,widowed,divorced,separatedandnevermarried);educationvariablescodethehighestdegreeearnedbytherespondent,therespondent’sfatherandmother(<highschool,highschool,associates/juniorcollege,bachelor’s,orgraduatedegrees);religion(protestant,catholic,jewish,other,ornone),and9censusregions.Separatedummyvariablesarealsoincludedformissingvaluesofeachcontrolvariable.(e)Incolumns4and5allcontrolsareinteractedwithracetoallowtheirassociationwithwell‐beingtodifferforblacksandwhites;andincolumn5,allcontrolsareinteractedwithtime,toallowfordifferentwell‐beingtrendsacrosssocioeconomicgroups.

Tables—2

Table2:ObjectiveIndicators

  Blacks  Whites   1970s  2000s  1970s  2000s 

Median Wages of Men in Constant Dollars  $20,958  $26,002  $34,749  $36,149 

Median Wages of Women in Constant Dollars  $11,020  $19,937  $12,177  $20,660 

Median Household Income  $26,319  $34,514  $45,733  $54,230 

Percent of Families in Poverty  28.080%  21.600%  7.200%  7.900% 

Percent of Young Men Incarcerated (18‐29)  2.193%  5.51%  0.354%  1.12% 

Percent of Young Women Incarcerated (18‐29)  0.077%  0.213%  0.009%  0.074% 

Percent of Children (under 18) in Single Parent 

Homes 33.100%  46.229%  10.300%  18.211% 

Life Expectancy at Birth  66.270  72.420  73.040  77.725 

Percent Male High School Dropouts (18‐24 year olds) 28.100%  14.667%  14.680%  12.956% 

Percent Female High School Dropouts (18‐24 year 

olds) 

25.230%  12.400%  14.750%  9.711% 

Percent Young Men Enrolled in College (18‐24 year 

olds) 

19.654%  27.444%  29.838%  34.544% 

Percent Young Women Enrolled in College (18‐24 

year olds) 

18.484%  35.611%  23.030%  41.067% 

Notes:MedianwageswerecalculatedusingannualdatafromtheUSCensusBureau.(2008).HistoricalTables.TableP‐5.RegionsofBlack[White]PeoplebyMedianIncomeandSex:1953to2008.RetrievedJune23,2010,fromPoverty:http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/index.htmlMedianhouseholdincomedatawereobtainedfromannualstatisticsprovidedbytheUSCensusBureau.(2008).Income,Poverty,andHealthInsuranceCoverageintheUnitedStates:2007.TableA‐1.HouseholdsbyTotalMoneyIncome,Race,andHispanicOriginofHouseholder:1967to2007.AveragesoffamiliesinpovertywerecalculatedusingannualdatafromtheUSCensusBureau.(2008).HistoricalTables.Table4.PovertyStatus,byTypeofFamily,PresenceofRelatedChildren,RaceandHispanicOrigin.RetrievedJune23,2010,fromPoverty:http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/index.html.IncarcerationpercentageswerecalculatedbydividingthenumberofprisonersinFederalandStateprisonsbythetotalpopulationforthatdemographic.For1970,decennialcensusdatafromtheUSCensusBureauprovidedthedataforboththenumberofimprisonedandthetotalpopulation.Forthe2000s,annualdatafromtheBureauofJusticeStatisticsprovidedprisonercountsanddatafromtheAmericanCommunitySurveyprovidedthetotalpopulationestimates.PersonsinInstitutionsandOtherGroupQuarters.(1970).Table3.AgeofPersonsUnderCustodyinCorrectionalInstitutionsbyTypeofControlofInstitution,Sex,Race,andSpanishOrigin:1970.http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/42045398v2p4d4ech5.pdf.GeneralPopulationCharacteristics:UnitedStatesSummary.(1970).Table50.SingleYearsofAgebyRaceandSex.http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1970a_us1‐07.pdf.Prisonersin2008.AppendixTable13.Estimatednumberofsentencedprisonersunderstateorfederaljurisdiction,bygender,race,Hispanicorigin,andage,December31,2008.http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/p08.pdf.AmericanCommunitySurvey.TableB01001.SexByAge.Percentagesofchildreninsingleparenthomesfor1970swerecalculatedusingdecennialdatafromthe1970U.S.Census.(1970).PersonsbyFamilyCharacteristics.Table1.FamilyStatusofPersonsUnder18YearsOldbePresenceandMaritalStatusofParents,Age,andRace:1970.RetrievedJune28,2010fromSubjectReports:

Tables—3

http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/42045395v2p4a4cch05.pdf.Percentagesfor2000swerecalculatedbydividingthenumberofunder‐18childreninsingleparenthomesbythetotalnumberofunder‐18childrenforeachdemographicgroup.Eachmeasurewascalculatedusingdecennialdatafromthe2000U.S.Census.(2000).DetailedTables.PCT29.OwnChildrenUnder18YearsbyFamilyTypeandAge.Totalpopulationfiguresineachdemographicgroupwerecalculatedusingdecennialdatafromthe2000U.S.Census.(2000).DetailedTables.P12B.SexbyAge.RetrievedJune28,2010fromAmericanFactFinder.Lifeexpectancyaveragesforthe1970sand2000swerecalculatedusingannualdatafromtheU.SNationalCenterforHealthStatistics.(2004).U.S.LifeTables,Table12.EstimatedLifeExpectancyatbirthinyears,byraceandsex,1900‐2000.RetrievedJune23,2010,FastStats:http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/lifexpec.htmAveragesofhighschooldropoutsandcollegeenrollmentforthe1970sand2000swerecalculatedusingannualdatafromtheU.S.CensusBureau.(2007).HistoricalTables,TableA‐5a.ThePopulation14to24YearsOldbyHighSchoolGraduateStatus,CollegeEnrollment,Attainment,Sex,RaceandHispanicOrigin:October1967to2008.RetrievedJune23,2010,fromSchoolEnrollment:http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html

Tables—4

Table3:TrendsinSubjectiveWell‐BeingbyU.S.DemographicGroup,GeneralSocialSurveyData,1972‐2008

  Black‐white gap in 1972 

Black‐white gap in 2008 

Difference  Trend for Blacks  

Trend for Whites 

Difference in the trends 

Male 

 

‐0.231***(0.089)

‐0.112*(0.069)

0.119

0.346(0.432)

0.015(0.096)

0.331(0.401)

Female 

 

‐0.392***(0.083)

‐0.034(0.075)

0.358

0.587(0.430)

‐0.408***

(0.080)0.995(0.395)

18‐29 

 

‐0.412***

(0.089)‐0.232**

(0.094) 0.1810.838*

(0.473)0.336**

(0.146)0.502(0.431)

30‐44 

 

‐0.394***

(0.068)‐0.085

(0.072) 0.3090.724**

(0.367)‐0.135(0.103)

0.858(0.350)

45‐59 

 

‐0.142

(0.102)‐0.089

(0.079) 0.054‐0.312(0.419)

‐0.461***(0.111)

0.149(0.455)

60+ 

 

‐0.312***

(0.098)0.152**

(0.064) 0.4640.631(0.501)

‐0.657***

(0.154)1.288(0.398)

Northeast 

 

‐0.300***

(0.101)‐0.088

(0.065) 0.2120.473(0.412)

‐0.116(0.113)

0.590(0.373)

Midwest 

 

‐0.200**

(0.101)‐0.149*

(0.081) 0.052‐0.049(0.430)

‐0.192*

(0.108)0.143(0.443)

South 

 

‐0.444***

(0.068)‐0.014

(0.063) 0.4300.923***

(0.324)‐0.272***

(0.086)1.195(0.327)

West 

 

‐0.275**

(0.141)‐0.040

(0.134) 0.2350.399(0.810)

‐0.254*

(0.147)0.653(0.690)

Suburban 

and rural 

‐0.326*** 

(0.096) 

‐0.059 

(0.081)  0.266 

0.510(0.479)

‐0.229***

(0.072)   

0.740(0.445)

Urban 

 

‐0.305*** 

(0.052) 

‐0.091* 

(0.050)  0.213 

0.406(0.264)

 ‐0.186*

(0.108) 

0.592(0.237)

<High 

School 

‐0.233** 

(0.102) 

‐0.085 

(0.107)  0.148 

0.321(0.482)

‐0.090 

(0.126) 

0.411(0.498)

High School 

 

‐0.327*** 

(0.065) 

‐0.051 

(0.072)  0.276 

0.448(0.369)

‐0.319***

(0.076) 

0.767(0.341)

Bachelors 

and beyond ‐0.385*** 

(0.133) 

‐0.106 

(0.096)  0.279 

0.739(0.675)

‐0.036 

(0.159)   

0.775(0.572)

<$15,000  ‐0.232*** 

(0.076) 

‐0.055 

(0.045)  0.176 

0.270(0.346)

‐0.220*

(0.125) 

0.490(0.313)

$15,000‐

<$25,000 

‐0.263*** 

(0.102) 

‐0.086 

(0.119)  0.177 

0.166(0.615)

‐0.325***

(0.117) 

0.491(0.566)

$25,000‐

<$40,000 

‐0.418*** 

(0.067) 

0.040 

(0.078)  0.459 

0.948***

(0.311)‐0.326***

(0.078) 

1.274(0.324)

>$40,000  ‐0.360** 

(0.163) 

‐0.173* 

(0.099)  0.187 

0.338(0.654)

‐0.182*

(0.101)  

0.520(0.647)

Not 

employed 

‐0.405*** 

(0.109) 

‐0.121 

(0.104)  0.284 

0.594(0.515)

‐0.195**

(0.082) 

0.789(0.538)

Tables—5

Employed  ‐0.265*** 

(0.064) 

‐0.037 

(0.048)  0.228 

0.405(0.347)

‐0.228**

(0.114)   

0.633(0.278)

Married  ‐0.393*** 

(0.079) 

‐0.003 

(0.065)  0.390 

0.896**

(0.389)‐0.187*   

(0.100) 

1.083(0.352)

Widowed  0.019 

(0.126) 

‐0.333*** 

(0.103)  ‐0.352 

‐0.824(0.644)

  0.154 

(0.260)   

‐0.978(0.567)

Divorced / 

Separated  

‐0.347*** 

(0.107) 

‐0.111 

(0.100)  0.236 

0.650(0.550)

‐0.006  

(0.127) 

0.656(0.526)

Never 

married 

‐0.179* 

(0.096) 

‐0.170* 

(0.097)  0.009 

‐0.534(0.523)

‐0.560***

(0.189)  

0.025(0.489)

Data:GeneralSocialSurvey,1972‐2008.Notes:***,**,and*denotestatisticallysignificantcoefficientsat1%,5%and10%,respectively.(Robuststandarderrorsinparentheses;clusteredbyyear)