The role of racial/ethnic discrimination in financial access and material hardship: Findings from Korean immigrants living in the deep south

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• Author: Yunju Nam,Eun Young Choi,Cho Rong Won,Hee Yun Lee
• Date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12559

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The role of racial/ethnic discrimination in

financial access and material hardship:

Findings from Korean immigrants living in the

deep south

Yunju Nam

1

|Eun Young Choi

2

|Cho Rong Won

3

|

Hee Yun Lee

3

1

School of Social Work, University at

Buffalo, State University of New York,

Buffalo, New York, USA

2

Leonard Davis School of Gerontology,

University of Southern California, Los

Angeles, United States, USA

3

School of Social Work, The University of

Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

Correspondence

Yunju Nam, School of Social Work,

University at Buffalo, State University of

New York, 685 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY

14260-1050, USA.

Email: yunjunam@buffalo.edu

Funding information

The Endowed Academic Chair Research

Fund at the School of Social Work of the

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

Abstract

This study examines how racial/ethnic discrimination

influences financial access and material hardship, using

survey data collected from self-identified Korean immi-

grants living in two counties in Alabama (N=241). Key

variables are experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination,

two subjective measures of financial access, and four indi-

cators of material hardship (overall, food-related, health

insurance, and medical care). Descriptive analyses show a

high rate of experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination, lim-

ited access to basic financial services and credit, and con-

siderable rates of material hardship. Regression analyses

indicate that experiencing discrimination has a significant

association with access to credit but not with access to

basic financial services. Access to credit has a significant

and negative association with all types of material hard-

ship. Our findings challenge the model minority myth of

socially and economically integrated Asian/Korean immi-

grants. Results call for anti-discrimination policies and

public efforts to expand financial access and reduce mate-

rial hardship among Korean immigrants.

KEYWORDS

economic hardship, financial capability, racism

Received:25August2022 Revised:26June2023 Accepted:3September2023

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12559

© 2023 American Council on Consumer Interests.

J Consum Aff. 2023;57:1547–1575. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 1547

1|INTRODUCTION

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination rates

skyrocketed. According to the Pew Research Center's survey, since the pandemic started, 31% of

Asians reported being subjected to slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity, and 26%

were afraid of being threatened or physically attacked (Ruiz et al., 2021). At the same time, the

New York City Commission on Human Rights reported that anti-Asian discrimination com-

plaints increased by 92% between February and April 2020 (Thorbecke & Zaru, 2020).

The sudden surge of anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes in the United States has shed

light on a hidden problem: racial discrimination against Asian Americans. The lack of scholarly

and policy interest in Asian Americans' experiences as a racialized group may be explained at

least partly by the widespread image of Asian Americans as a “model minority.”According to

the model minority myth, Asian Americans have overcome racial disparities and achieved

equal standing with white people (Bascara, 2008; Neville et al., 2018). However, a substantial

proportion of Asian Americans report experiencing discrimination (Gee et al., 2009; McMurtry

et al., 2019; NPR, 2017). Unfortunately, discrimination against Asian Americans has mostly

been ignored and understudied (McMurtry et al., 2019).

Financial capability and economic well-being research is not an exception. We know little

about whether and how racial and ethnic discrimination has shaped Asian Americans' financial

experience and influenced their economic well-being. To fill gaps in our knowledge, this study

investigates whether and how experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination influences financial

access and material hardship among a vulnerable and understudied population. Utilizing new

survey data collected from self-identified Koreans in two counties in Alabama, this study aims

to address the following questions: First, does the experience of racial/ethnic discrimination

negatively impact financial access among Korean immigrants in Alabama? Second, does the

experience of discrimination increase the risk of material hardship among Korean immigrants

in Alabama? Third, does financial access reduce the risk of experiencing material hardship

among Korean immigrants in Alabama?

By answering these questions, this study makes the following three contributions to the lit-

erature: First, this study expands our understanding of the impacts of individuals' experiences

of racial and ethnic discrimination on financial access and material hardship. Although numer-

ous studies show racial and ethnic disparities in financial access (Charles & Hurst, 2002;

Dymski, 2006) and a persistently higher risk of material hardship among racialized groups

(Nam, Huang, et al., 2015), few empirical studies examine the roles of individuals' experiences

of discrimination in explaining these racial and ethnic inequalities (Phojanakong et al., 2019;

Turner & Ross, 2003). To our best knowledge, this study is the first empirical study that simulta-

neously examines racial/ethnic discrimination, financial access, and material hardship.

Second, this study investigates Korean immigrants' experience in the Deep South, where

there has been a rapid population growth of Asian Americans in recent decades: the rate of

Asian American population growth was 76% between 1990 and 2000 and 71% between 2000

and 2010 in Southern states (Weng, 2019). Furthermore, racial hierarchies and socioeconomic

structures in the South differ from other regions, calling for special attention to this area when

discussing Asian Americans' experiences of overt racial/ethnic discrimination. In the South,

racial hierarchies are influenced by the history of slavery and Jim Crow laws more strongly

than in other regions, and the Black-white dichotomy has dominated political, economic, social,

and cultural discourses related to racial relationships (Adelman & Tsao, 2016; Weng, 2019). At

the same time, as a new destination for Asian immigrants, the South lacks ethnic resources and

1548 NAM ET AL.