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Darrick Hamilton

Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School
Chapter Member: New York City SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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(212) 229-5400

About Darrick

Hamilton's work focuses on the causes, consequences and remedies of racial and ethnic inequality in economic and health outcomes, which includes an examination of the intersection of identity, racism, colorism, and socioeconomic outcomes. He has authored numerous scholarly articles on socioeconomic stratification in education, marriage, wealth, homeownership, health (including mental health), and labor market outcomes.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Economists' Letter on Recovery Policy

  • Elizabeth Oltmans Ananat
    • Peter Diamond , Darrick Hamilton
  • Michael Klein
    • Matthew Kraft , Alicia Sasser Modestino
White Paper,

A Federal Job Guarantee: Anti-Poverty and Infrastructure Policy for a Better Future

  • Daniel Carpenter
White Paper,

Ten Solutions to Bridge the Racial Wealth Divide

Key Findings Brief,

Why the U.S. Federal Government Needs to Guarantee Jobs for All Willing Workers

  • Mark Paul
  • William Darity Jr.
Basic Facts Brief,

No Jargon Podcast

Episode 78:
Can’t Get Ahead

In the News

"‘Baby Bonds’ Could Help the U.S. Wealth Gap," Darrick Hamilton (with William Darity Jr.), Interview with Matthew Boesler, Bloomberg, April 5, 2019.
Darrick Hamilton's research on federal tax law discussed by Katrina vanden Heuvel, "Trump's Tax-Cut Scam Will Only Deepen Racism and Inequality," The Washington Post, June 26, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on racial inequality discussed by DeRay McKesson, "Road to Zero Wealth Reaches Pod Save the People," Pod Save the People, May 16, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on progressive ideas by Benjy Sarlin, "Fringe Liberal Ideas Move to Front-Burner for Democrats" NBC News, May 14, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on black wealth discussed by Antonio Moore, "Black Wealth from Kanye to Donald Glover: America's Decadent Veil," NewsMax, May 11, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on the racial wealth gap by David Love, "Should the Kanye West MAGA Debacle Remind Black People That" Atlanta Black Star, May 6, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on wealth and inequality by Susan Milligan, "Unequal in America" U.S. News & World Report, May 4, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on America's racial wealth gap discussed by Sam Fullwood III, "New Study Takes Aim at Debunking Old Myths about America’s Racial Wealth Gap," Think Progress, May 2, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by David Dayen, "Whether American Can Afford a Job Guarantee Program is Not Up for Debate" The Intercept, April 30, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a jobs guarantee program by Jeff Stein, "Booker, Sanders Want to Promise Every American a Job. Some Democrats are Skeptical." The Washington Post, April 27, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by Gregory Krieg, "Why a 'federal jobs guarantee' is Gaining Steam with Democrats" CNN, April 26, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by Gideon Resnick, "How Guaranteeing Jobs Became the Hot New Policy Priority for 2020 Dems" The Daily Beast, April 25, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by Jonathan Chait, "Democrats are Rushing into a Job Guarantee. It Could be a Huge Mistake." New York Magazine, April 25, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by John Bowden, "Sen. Sanders to Announce Proposal Promising Jobs to All Americans" The Hill, April 24, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by Jeff Stein, "Bernie Sanders to Announce Plan to Guarantee Every American a Job" The Washington Post, April 23, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by Jake Johnson, "Embracing 'the Sort of Bold Thinking We Need,' Sanders to Introduce Plan to Guarantee Every American a Job" Common Dreams, April 23, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on black-white wealth gap discussed by Noah Smith, "How to Reduce the Black-White Wealth Gap," Bloomberg View, April 23, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on Jamelle Bouie, "Mind the Gap," Slate, April 20, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal jobs guarantee by Dylan Matthews, "Cory Booker’s New Big Idea: Guaranteeing Jobs for Everyone Who Wants One" Vox, April 20, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on homeownership and racial wealth inequality by Tanvi Misra, "Does Homeownership Really 'Drive' the Black-White Wealth Gap?" City Lab, April 20, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on reducing the racial wealth gap by Eshe Nelson, "Greater Homeownership isn’t the Answer to Ending Wealth Inequality" Quartz, April 19, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on corporate racism and racial profiling by Sam Fulwood III, "The Implicit Bias of Starbucks’ Implicit Bias Training" Think Progress, April 18, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on Antonio Moore, "What We Get Wrong about Closing the Racial Wealth Gap," Fortune, April 16, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Angela Helm, "Robert Johnson Capes for Trump over Black Unemployment Numbers (or Something)" The Root, April 7, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Tracy Jan, "America’s First Black Billionaire Says Trump Economy Has Been Good for African Americans" The Washington Post, April 7, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Jeff Stein, "How 12 Experts Would End Inequality If They Ran America" The Washington Post, April 6, 2018.
"Race Still Trumps Class for Black Americans," Darrick Hamilton (with Jennifer Cohen), The Guardian, March 27, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Charlie May, "Michael Moore Blasts 'Corporate Media' for Only Talking about 'Russia, Russia, Russia'" Alternet, March 22, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted , "Bernie Sanders Hosts a Town Hall on Inequality" The Guardian, March 21, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Stephanie Curtis and Elizabeth Shockman, "Why are the Economic Odds Stacked against Black Men?" MPR News, March 21, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by James Dennin, "Does Free Money Make People Lazy? Why the Case for a Universal Basic Income is Getting Stronger." Mic: The Payoff, February 21, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on closing the wealth gap discussed by "Could the Wealth Gap be Closed by Giving Babies $50,000? Some Economists Think So," CBC Radio, January 24, 2018.
"Make Every Child a Trust Fund Baby," Darrick Hamilton (with William Darity Jr.), The News & Observer, January 18, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Vann R. Newkirk II, "Instead of Work Requirements, Why Not a Jobs Guarantee?" The Atlantic, January 14, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on Brad Williams, "This Proposal Would Give an Average of $20000 to Every Baby Born in the US," The Kansas City Star, January 11, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Heather Long, "Black Unemployment Falls to Lowest Level on Record" Washington Post, January 10, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted by Chris Weller, "Some Economists Want the US Government to Put Up to $50,000 in 'Baby Bond' Bank Accounts" Insider, January 10, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on universal trusts for US children discussed by Heather Long, "There's a Serious Proposal to Give Babies Born in the United States $20,000 (or More)," Chicago Tribune, January 9, 2018.
on All Things Considered National Public Radio, Darrick Hamilton (with William Darity Jr. and John Ydstie), January 9, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton's research on Heather Long, "There's a Serious Proposal to Give Babies Born in the United States $20000 (or More)," Washington Post, January 8, 2018.
Darrick Hamilton quoted on a federal job guarantee by Annie Lowrey, "Should the Government Guarantee Everyone a Job?" The Atlantic, May 17, 2017.
Darrick Hamilton's research on racial disparities in family wealth discussed by Victor Ray, "The Racialization of Academic Funding," Inside HigherEd, February 10, 2017.
"Why We Need a Federal Job Guarantee," Darrick Hamilton (with William Darity Jr.), Jacobin Magazine, Jacobin Magazine, February 4, 2017.
Darrick Hamilton's research on racial disparities in Washington, DC discussed by Elizabeth Chang, "What Race Tells Us about Net Worth in Washington," Washington Post, November 28, 2016.
Darrick Hamilton's research on spreading the benefits of asset-ownership to all Americans discussed by Lynn Parramore, "Baby Bonds: A Plan for Black/White Wealth Equality Conservatives Could Love?," Institute for New Economic Thinking, October 25, 2016.
"Why Black Colleges and Universities Still Matter," Darrick Hamilton (with William Darity Jr., Tressie McMillan Cottom, Alan A. Aja, and Carolyn Ash), The American Prospect, November 9, 2015.
"The Federal Job Guarantee: A Step Towards Racial Justice," Darrick Hamilton, Dissent Magazine, November 7, 2015.

Publications

"Examining the Differential Impact of Recessions and Recovery Across Race and Gender for Working- Versus Professional-Class Workers" (with Ofronama Biu). American Academy of Political and Social Science 695, no. 1 (2021).

Examines the Differential Impact of Recessions and Recovery Across Race and Gender for Working Versus Professional Class Workers. We investigate how wages and occupation sorting vary by race, gender, and class during recessions.

"The Political Economy of Education, Financial Literacy, and the Racial Wealth Gap" (with William Darity Jr.). Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review 99, no. 1 (2017): 59-76.

Examines the mismatch between the political discourse around individual agency, education, and financial literacy, and the actual racial wealth gap. The authors argue that the racial wealth gap is rooted in socioeconomic and political structure barriers rather than a disdain for or underachievement in education or financial literacy on the part of Black Americans, as might be suggested by the conventional wisdom. Also, the article presents a stratification economic lens as an alternative to the conventional wisdom to better understand why the racial wealth gap persists.

"The Color of Wealth in the Nation's Capital," (with William Darity Jr., Kilolo Kijakazi, Rachel Marie Brooks Atkins, and Anne E. Price), The Urban Institute, The New School, and the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, 2017.

Explores racial and ethnic differences in net worth, focusing on Black families in Washington, DC, and shows, through a chronicle of their history in the city, how discrimination and systemic racism contributed to today's wealth gap in the nation's capital. 

"Race, Wealth and Incarceration: Results from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth" (with William Darity Jr. and Khaing Zaw). Race and Social Problems 8, no. 1 (2016): 103-115.

Examines data on race and wealth status before and after incarceration to find that, although higher levels of wealth were associated with lower rates of incarceration, the likelihood of future incarceration still was higher for blacks at every level of wealth compared to the white likelihood. Further, finds that racial wealth gaps existed among those who would be incarcerated in the future and also among the previously incarcerated.

"Wealth Inequalities in Greater Boston: Do Race and Ethnicity Matter?," (with William Darity Jr., Tatjana Meshede, Ana Patricia Muñoz, and Regine Jackson), Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2016.

Assesses new data from the Boston metropolitan statistical area as part of the National Asset Scorecard for Communities of Color (NASCC) survey to provide detailed information on financial assets that allow analysis to extend beyond the tradition black-white divide.  The findings underscore the large racial and ethnic disparities in financial wealth, and indicate the need for wealth building opportunities in communities of color and further investigation of the causes and consequences of financial disparities between groups of color disaggregated by ancestral origin.