Engines of Inequality: Class, Race, and Family Structure

Authors

Amy L. Wax, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law SchoolFollow

ORCID

Amy Wax 0000-0002-8200-5555

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-21-2008

Abstract

The past 30 years have witnessed a dramatic divergence in family structure by social class, income, education, and race. This article reviews the data on these trends, explores their significance, and assesses social scientists’ recent attempts to explain them. The article concludes that society-wide changes in economic conditions or social expectations cannot account for these patterns. Rather, for reasons that are poorly understood, cultural disparities have emerged by class and race in attitudes and behaviors surrounding family, sexuality, and reproduction. These disparities will likely fuel social and economic inequality and contribute to disparities in children’s life prospects for decades to come.

Keywords

marriage, divorce, family structure, social class, income, education, race, economic conditions, cultural disparities, social and economic inequality, disparities between groups, average differences between groups

Publication Title

Family Law Quarterly

Publication Citation

41 Fam. L.Q. 567 (2007).

Repository Citation

Wax, Amy L., "Engines of Inequality: Class, Race, and Family Structure" (2008). All Faculty Scholarship. 205.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/205