Damon Jones on Household Finance and Racial Inequality

A sudden loss of income can devastate a household’s financial health, just as a payment from the government can bolster it. The extent of the change in fortune — for good or ill — depends on factors such as household savings, which are, in turn, influenced by other forces, including racial inequality and economic policy. In short, understanding household finance requires grappling with myriad variables — many of which are covered in this wide-ranging conversation.

Damon Jones is an associate professor and associate director of the Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. He is also a co-host of The Inequality Podcast. On this episode, he discusses his work with fellow co-host and Stone Center director Steven Durlauf, covering income shocks and their implications for racial inequality, Black economists’ contributions to the field, universal basic income, and more.