The Great Recession and Economic Outcomes for Indigenous Peoples in the United States

• DOI: 10.1177/00027162211025476
• Date: 01 May 2021
• Published date: 01 May 2021
• Author: Randall Akee
• Subject Matter: Population Outcomes

ANNALS, AAPSS, 695, May 2021 143

DOI: 10.1177/00027162211025476

The Great

Recession and

Economic

Outcomes for

Indigenous

Peoples in the

United States

By

RANDALL AKEE

1025476ANN The Annals of The American AcademyEconomic Outcomes for Indigenous Peoples in The U.S.

research-article2021

This article examines the earnings and employment

experience of American Indians and Alaska Natives

(AIAN) and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

(NHPI) residing in the United States during and after

the Great Recession. I compare these populations to

non-Hispanic whites over the same time period with

respect to median earnings and inequality, labor force

participation rates, earnings by location, educational

attainment, and occupational status. I find that the

AIAN population has the lowest median earnings and

highest level of earnings inequality. NHPI and AIAN

experience a sharp increase in earnings inequality over

the Great Recession and AIAN have a pronounced

drop in labor force participation; these inequality meas-

ures remained elevated and stable over the recovery

period especially for the AIAN population. Indigenous

peoples employed in food services occupations experi-

enced the least amount of earnings decline over the

Great Recession, while those employed in construction

and sales experienced larger declines. Labor force par-

ticipation rates dropped most dramatically for the

AIAN population over the Great Recession and

remained at a new lower level in the recovery period.

The analysis shows that there are stark differences

across time, space, and occupation for these groups.

Keywords: Great Recession; Indigenous peoples;

earnings; inequality; JEL classification

While the Great Recession (2008–2011)

had a significant effect on the country as

a whole, it had a disparate impact on different

parts of the economy by industry and region.

The nature of the Great Recession and its

impact on housing markets, construction, and

associated industries meant a reduction in

household wealth as well as employment

(Danziger 2013; Foster, Grim, and Haltiwanger

2016; Meyer and Sullivan 2013; Smeeding

Randall Akee is an associate professor in the depart-

ments of Public Policy and American Indian Studies at

UCLA. His research focuses on the determinants of

economic development of Indigenous peoples.

Correspondence: rakee@ucla.edu