This document discusses trends in income inequality and racial disparities in Michigan compared to other states and the United States as a whole. It shows that from 1976 to 2008, incomes increased most for those at the top and did not trickle down to the middle or bottom. Some southern states saw less inequality due to improved education. Earnings gaps between black and white workers decreased slightly for men but increased for women nationally over the past 35 years. The gap for black men decreased more in Georgia than Michigan. The Detroit area has more racial segregation than any other major US city.

1. Race for Results in Michigan
Presented to
Opportunity & Equity 2014
May 5, 2014
Charles L. Ballard
Department of Economics
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
ballard@msu.edu

2. In most parts of the country, the
increase in income inequality was
NOT spread evenly through the
income distribution:
The top pulled away from the
middle, but the middle did not pull
away from the bottom.

3. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
PercentChange
Percentile of the Household Income Distribution
Percent Change in Inflation-Adjusted Income from 1976-78 to 2006-08,
For Households at Selected Points in the Income Distribution,
For Michigan, Ohio, and the United States
Michigan
Ohio
United States

4. The pace of disequalization was
fastest in the highly educated
Northeast, but most of the country
experienced a substantial increase
in inequality.
Some notable exceptions occurred
in the South, where improved
education (especially for African
Americans) has helped even those
near the bottom.

5. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
PercentChange
Percentile of the Household Income Distribution
Percent Change in Inflation Adjusted Income from 1976-78 to 2006-08,
For Households at Selected Points in the Income Distribution,
For Georgia and the United States
United States
Georgia

6. For the U.S. as a whole, the
earnings gap between black
and white men has decreased
very slightly in the last 35
years, but the gap for women
has increased.

7. 50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
1967
1971
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
Percent
Year
Median Labor-Market Earnings for Blacks,
As Percent of Median Earnings for Whites,
For Full-Time Year-Round Workers
In the United States, 1967-2011
Women
Men

8. 60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Percent
Years
Median Earnings for Black Men, As Percent of Median Earnings for White Men, for
Michigan and Georgia, for Five-Year Averages, 1976-2008
Michigan
Georgia

9. The Detroit metropolitan area is
more racially segregated than
any other major area in the
United States.

11. Michigan, My Michigan
A song to thee, fair State of mine,
Michigan, my Michigan.
But greater song than this is thine,
Michigan, my Michigan.
The whisper of the forest tree,
The thunder of the inland sea,
Unite in one grand symphony
Of Michigan, my Michigan.