Table 1.
Results from one-sample t tests comparing estimates of past and current Black–White economic equality with national statistics for the five individual markers of economic inequality comprising our composite index
| Study 1, n = 444 | Study 2, n = 419 | Study 3, n = 312 | Actual racial gap | ||||
| Economic outcome | Mean (SD) | t-value | Mean (SD) | t-value | Mean (SD) | t-value | |
| Past estimates | |||||||
| Health benefits | −28.12 (39.33) | −15.07* | −26.79 (40.76) | −13.45* | −22.41 (40.45) | −9.79* | 10.24 |
| College wages | −16.47 (36.27) | −9.46* | −20.35 (37.99) | −10.96* | −12.24 (36.99) | −5.85* | 13.49 |
| High school wages | −17.13 (38.81) | −9.30* | −19.19 (39.02) | −10.07* | −13.20 (38.30) | −6.09* | 16.33 |
| Wealth | 52.00 (40.27) | 27.21* | 53.67 (40.88) | 26.87* | 61.15 (39.37) | 27.44* | 93.35 |
| Income | −2.65 (40.21) | −1.39 | −1.78 (43.19) | −0.85 | 7.35 (43.45) | 2.99* | 48.90 |
| Composite | −2.47 (34.37) | −1.52 | −2.89 (35.94) | −1.65 | 4.13 (36.26) | 2.01* | |
| Current estimates | |||||||
| Health benefits | −1.46 (40.46) | −0.76 | 6.02 (41.51) | 2.97* | 5.24 (38.17) | 2.43* | 14.36 |
| College wages | 10.79 (37.30) | 6.10* | 13.46 (37.36) | 7.37* | 20.05 (34.12) | 10.38* | 19.04 |
| High school wages | 9.58 (40.18) | 5.02* | 12.45 (40.69) | 6.26* | 18.41 (34.29) | 9.48* | 20.89 |
| Wealth | 74.61 (44.38) | 35.42* | 80.53 (44.77) | 36.82* | 85.21 (40.15) | 37.49* | 94.96 |
| Income | 22.96 (41.26) | 11.72* | 28.74 (43.19) | 13.62* | 35.27 (36.65) | 17.00* | 42.70 |
| Composite | 23.30 (36.29) | 13.53* | 28.24 (37.19) | 15.54* | 32.84 (33.99) | 17.06* | |
A mean of zero indicates perfect accuracy in estimates of Black–White equality in health benefits, college wages, high school wages, wealth, and income, respectively. Negative numbers reflect underestimates of equality; positive numbers reflect overestimates. An asterisk after a t-value indicates that P < 0.05. The rightmost column reports the actual gap between the economic outcome for White Americans and Black Americans (all scored in the pro-White direction) based on CPS statistics; White American economic outcomes are equal to 100. For example, the 94.96 statistic for the current wealth gap indicates that for every $100 US of wealth a White American accumulates, a Black American has $5.04 US.