ANN ARBOR—Boys who grow up poor earn considerably less money as adults than boys from middle-class families, according to a new University of Michigan study.

“Parental poverty is the strongest and most consistent predictor of men’s economic outcomes,” says Mary E. Corcoran, U-M professor of political science, public policy and social work. “Our most striking finding is that parental poverty has large effects on sons’ annual earnings and hourly wages, and these effects are similar for Blacks and non-Blacks.”

In her study of more 1,300 men (58 percent white, 42 percent African American) between the ages of 25 and 35, Corcoran, along with colleague Terry Adams, found that boys raised in poor families earn 41 percent-63 percent less per year and 29 percent less per hour than boys raised in middle-income households.

While the impact of family childhood poverty is similar for Blacks and whites, the effects of environmental disadvantages vary by race, she says.

Corcoran’s study shows that a depressed labor market is strongly linked to lower earnings, smaller wages and fewer work hours for African American men, but not for white men. Each increase of 1 percentage point in the male unemployment rate is associated with a 6.6 percent loss in annual earnings, a 3.5 percent loss in hourly wages and a 3.1 percent loss in yearly work hours for Black men.

Although she found no evidence that growing up in extremely poor neighborhoods hurts Black men’s economic outcomes, Corcoran found the opposite to be true for whites.

White men raised in communities where more than 30 percent of the residents are poor earn 54 percent less money per year, 36 percent less per hour and work 3 percent fewer hours than white men who grew up in non-poor neighborhoods.

In sum, Corcoran says that her results strongly show that policies delivering economic resources to poor families will increase the economic mobility of poor children. 

More information: 

• Mary E. Corcoran