How does race affect economic outcomes in America - Research Paper Example

ferences in schooling and living conditions, the political representation of the minority groups as well as distribution of critical jobs in the public sector as key players in economic disparities. The contributions of various researchers with the aim of shedding light on these issues are also explored. Several possible solutions to these inequalities are also given about the potential causes of the effect that these racial gaps pose to the economy. Income inequality continues to persist among the races in the United States despite the contributions of equality proponents.

The average income for the various groups of people further proves this with the Asian Americans and the Whites leading the pack. The Blacks, Hispanics and the Native Americans have the lowest average income. Various explanations have been proposed for these differences including intelligence differences, discrimination and accessibility to education (Colander, Prasch & Sheth, 2004). Socially, the different races have brought out the aspect of diversity which has both positive and adverse effects.

The diversity can be measured in terms of religion, language, ethnicity, birthplace and genetic makeup (Colander, Prasch & Sheth, 2004). Diversity may lead to an increase in productivity in instances where different people with different skills interact. It may result in poor communication, conflicts, civil wars and difficulties in running policies. Diversity also brings about different effects depending on the scenarios. For instance, it brings about the varying levels of segregation in various countries of the world.

Segregation has consequently affected the levels of trust and the quality of the institutions involved. For instance, the effectiveness of the black representatives in various official capacities have been negatively affected as a result of racial segregation (Colander, Prasch & Sheth, 2004). Politically, the effects of race are better seen through the evaluation of elections in