Assessing the Influence of Redlining on Intergenerational Wealth and Body Mass Index Through a Quasi-experimental Framework

BackgroundHigher levels of body mass index (BMI), particularly for those who have obesity defined as class II and III, are correlated with excess risk of all-cause mortality in the USA, and these risks disproportionately affects marginalized communities impacted by systemic racism. Redlining, a form of structural racism, is a practice by which federal agencies and banks disincentivized mortgage investments in predominantly racialized minority neighborhoods, contributing to residential segregation. The extent to which redlining contributes to current-day wealth and health inequities, including obesity, through wealth pathways or limited access to health-promoting resources, remains unclear. Our quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the generational impacts of redlining on wealth and body mass index (BMI) outcomes.MethodsWe leveraged the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps to implement a geographical regression discontinuity design, where treatment assignment is randomly based on the boundary location of PSID grandparents in yellowlined vs. redlined areas and used outcome measures of wealth and mean BMI of grandchildren. To estimate our effects, we used a continuity-based approach and applied data-driven procedures to identify the most appropriate bandwidths for a valid estimation and inference.ResultsIn our fully adjusted model, grandchildren with grandparents living in redlined areas had lower average household wealth (beta = - $35,419; 95% CIrbc - $37,423, - $7615) and a notably elevated mean BMI (beta = 7.47; 95% CIrbc - 4.00, 16.60), when compared to grandchildren whose grandparents resided in yellowlined regions.ConclusionOur research supports the idea that redlining, a historical policy rooted in structural racism, is a key factor contributing to disparities in wealth accumulation and, conceivably, body mass index across racial groups.