A study led by Haotian Zheng, PhD, MSW, MA, assistant professor at the Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare, was published in the November 2025 issue of the Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy.
The study, titled "Historical Harms and Racial Wealth Inequality: Evidence from Homeownership and Retirement Savings Accounts," used SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) data to examine the effect historical harms have had on wealth ownership rates among Black families.
It found that historical harms—for example, systematic injustices including slavery and discrimination—confounded by current socioeconomic inequalities, are associated with lower wealth ownership rates. Notably, redlining has negatively impacted homeownership rates.
While "no individual historical harm indicators were significantly associated with retirement savings account ownership," the study's findings suggest that historical harms also affect retirement account ownership, in addition to homeownership rates among Black families.
Professor Zheng and co-authors Jin Huang and Michael Sherraden of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggest that "policy should be designed to avoid reinforcing existing inequalities, take into consideration the heterogeneous nature of the historical harms-wealth connection, and create conditions to begin reducing inequalities."
An alumnus and former employee of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, Professor Zheng was appointed to his current position at Stony Brook in September 2025.
