The Social Construction 

of Racial Privilege in the United States: An Asset Perspective

The author investigates the persistence of racial privilege in the absence of systematic racial inequality
laws. The legacy of racial inequality and privilege, according to Oliver, has limited the potential for
economic and social equality. The author was able to establish that race is essential to the social
construction of privilege by focusing on assets and wealth. Although emphasizing that, while class and
race are undoubtedly significant, focusing solely on class would be a mistake because the shadow of
race falls darkly on the black underclass, whose members are at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Race, Human Capital Inequality, and Income Distribution

The author investigates the relationship between race, education, and economic inequality in South
Africa, Brazil, and the United States. The writers viewed education as an asset, a type of capital in which
the accumulation and distribution of educational attainment boosts economic growth and influences
income distribution.   According to the authors, education generates income that contributes to growth
and, like other assets (land and physical capital), its distribution influences income distribution, and if
only a portion of the population can benefit from the growth process, it will be ineffective. The author
compared education attainment in Brazil, South Africa and the United States and concludes that
education attainment in the three countries greatly affect income distribution.