WP 26-014: Beyond the Conventional Narrative: Economic Heterogeneity and Human Capital Among American Indians

There is substantial heterogeneity in economic, educational, and health outcomes among American Indians, shaped by factors such as geographic location, resource endowments, and historical experiences with federal policies. There is clear evidence that past policies, including forced relocation, boarding schools, and assimilation efforts, have had long-lasting negative effects on human capital development and intergenerational mobility. Recent decades have seen improvements in some areas, particularly where tribes have exercised greater self-governance and implemented innovative economic development strategies. This paper emphasizes that a “one-size-fits-all” approach is inadequate for analyzing the sources and potential remediation of disparities between Native populations and descendants of later arrivals. Measures for American Indian outcomes are complicated by issues of racial and tribal identification, data limitations, and changing definitions. This article comments on the need for caution and clarity in the use and analysis of data for this population in both historical and contemporary settings.

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Keywords: Income inequality, earnings inequality, race, ethnicity, mobility, American Indian, data quality