Bloustein professor joins economic equity research fellowship

Jermaine Toney, an assistant professor in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, was selected to join the 2024-2025 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis fellowship cohort to participate in research while residing at the Institute for Economic Equity (IEE), according to a press release.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis oversees banking institutions in the Eighth Federal Reserve District by evaluating their activities and asset quality, safeguarding strategies and adherence to consumers and laws and regulations.

"I would like to thank Vice President William Rodgers of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the selection committee for extending this wonderful opportunity to me," Toney said. "I am delighted to have been selected as a fellow at the Institute for Economic Equity."

He said that his research focuses on the intricate relationships between race and household finances, with his current focus being how racially restrictive housing contracts and past government redlining have affected various neighborhoods.

"Components of my research program include economic insecurity in the family tree and the racial wealth gap, how extended family mental health issues influence financial marketplace participation (and) repetition in wealth across multiple generations," he said.

Toney said that his family history and his passion for socioeconomic inclusion inspired him to pursue his studies. He added that from 2005 to 2011, he served as the chief researcher for a nonprofit organization, which was inspired by his aunt's involvement in the Great Migration to Minneapolis, sometimes known as the Great Black Migration.

The Great Migration was one of the biggest population shifts in the U.S. that occurred between 1910 and 1970 when approximately six million Black people relocated from the South to states in the North, Midwest and West.

"My mother arrived in Minneapolis in the early 1980s, settling into (the) same zip code as my aunt. I watched as my zip code carried the brunt of the loss of manufacturing jobs," Toney said. "Manufacturing jobs used to provide opportunities for workers with moderate levels of education, such as a high school diploma."

Additionally, he said that he developed connections with lawmakers, newspaper editorial boards and foundations in order to spread the notion that financial inclusion concerns need to be taken into consideration in policies and procedures.

He said that he is currently furthering his research by inspecting his hometown's land records. His main curiosity is whether a home during the Great Depression received federal home mortgage relief provisions.

"With the support from the IEE's fellowship program, I propose to use untapped information from land records to study how historic housing policies influence contemporary wealth outcomes in cities," Toney said.

He said that the fellowship will focus on the need for studies about wealth disparities, obstacles to accumulating wealth and elements influencing the economic circumstances of low-to-moderate-income areas. In his application, he suggested that he look into the ways that previous housing patterns affect the socioeconomic results of communities now.

Furthermore, he stated his early career awards from organizations such as the Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice and the National Science Foundation have helped him become more noticeable in this field.

"The fellowship position will support me with time and resources to broaden my research portfolio, and extend my professional network," Toney said.