Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession

This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and real assets among families with young children. Real assets such as homes and cars are key indicators of economic well-being that may be especially valuable to low-income families. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898), we investigate the association between the city unemployment rate and home and car ownership and how the relationship varies by family structure (married, cohabiting, and single parents) and by race/ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic mothers). Using mother fixed-effects models, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a -0.5 percentage point decline in the probability of home ownership and a -0.7 percentage point decline in the probability of car ownership. We also find that the recession was associated with lower levels of home ownership for cohabiting families and for Hispanic families, as well as lower car ownership among single mothers and among Black mothers, whereas no change was observed among married families or White households. Considering that homes and cars are the most important assets among middle and low-income households in the U.S., these results suggest that the rise in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession may have increased household asset inequality across family structures and race/ethnicities, limiting economic mobility, and exacerbating the cycle of poverty.

本文考察了大衰退（Great Recession）与有年幼子女家庭的实物资产（real assets）持有状况之间的关联。住房与汽车等实物资产是衡量经济福祉的核心指标，对于低收入家庭而言尤为重要。
本研究采用脆弱家庭与儿童福利研究（Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study）的纵向数据（longitudinal data），样本量N=4898，以此分析城市失业率与住房、汽车拥有率之间的关联，并考察该关联如何因家庭结构（已婚家庭、同居家庭与单亲家庭）以及种族/族裔（白人、黑人和西班牙裔母亲）而产生差异。
通过母亲固定效应模型（mother fixed-effects models）分析，我们发现：失业率每上升1个百分点，家庭住房拥有概率下降0.5个百分点，汽车拥有概率下降0.7个百分点。
此外，研究发现，大衰退与同居家庭及西班牙裔家庭的住房拥有率下降存在显著关联，同时也与单身母亲、黑人母亲的汽车拥有率降低相关；而已婚家庭与白人家庭的资产拥有率则未出现明显变化。
鉴于住房与汽车是美国中低收入家庭最重要的实物资产，本研究结果表明，大衰退期间的失业率上升可能加剧了不同家庭结构与种族/族裔群体间的家庭资产不平等，限制了经济流动性，并进一步加剧了贫困循环。