Primary Submission Category: Structural factors
Unpacking The Relationship Between Structural Racism and Intergenerational Wealth and Health Outcomes: A Spatial Regression Discontinuity Approach
Authors: Shanise Owens Edmund Seto Anjum Hajat Paul Fishman Jerome Dugan Ahoua Koné Jesse Jones-Smith
Presenting Author: Shanise Owens*
Background: Obesity, the second leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States (US), disproportionately impacts marginalized communities especially those impacted by systemic racism. Redlining, a form of structural racism, is a practice by which federal agencies and banks prohibited mortgage investments in predominantly racialized minority neighborhoods, contributing to residential segregation. Communities impacted by structural racism are more likely to live in obesogenic environments. We used a quasi-experimental design to explore the generational impact of redlining practices on wealth and health outcomes. Methods: We leveraged the longitudinal and genealogical nature of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a nationally representative sample of US families. To obtain our study sample we used redlining maps and census block-level data to identify first generation PSID families living in a grade C (yellow-lined) and grade D (redlined) areas, and used longitudinal data to measure income, wealth and body mass index (BMI) on third generation descendants. We exploited the geographical nature of the HOLC maps and PSID to implement a spatial regression discontinuity design, where treatment assignment is as-if random based upon the geographical boundary location of PSID families in yellow-lined vs. redlined areas. To estimate our effects, we used a location randomization approach and applied data-driven procedures to identify the most appropriate windows for valid inference. Results: Preliminary results reveal grandchildren with grandparents living in redlined areas have lower family income and higher BMI, yet also higher wealth outcomes than those with grandparents who lived yellow-lined areas. Further falsification and validity tests will illuminate the significance of these results. Conclusion: Elucidating the generational impact of structural racism can promote policies that address structural factors connected to income, wealth, and BMI inequities.