The G.I. Bill and Black-White Wealth Disparities
Enacted in 1944 by President Roosevelt, the G.I. Bill aimed to assist veterans and is often credited with creating the American middle class. Although race-neutral in legal terms, the bill disproportionately benefited White veterans, potentially exacerbating Black-White inequality. Economists Christiane Szerman and Lukas Althoff will investigate the extent to which the G.I. Bill contributed to the racial wealth gap among veterans and their descendants. They will analyze World War II Army Enlistment records, Census data, data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the Residential Finance Survey, the National Survey of Veterans, the National Survey of Black Americans, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the National Survey of Families and Household, the General Social Survey, and Infutor Data Solutions for their study.