Institutional Racism

2000. It is expected that minority students will represent the majority of school
enrollments by 2015. Minorities make up a growing share of America's future workforce;
therefore, the United States' economic competitiveness depends heavily on closing the
racial achievement gap.
The racial achievement gap affects the volume and quality of human capital, which is
also reflected through calculations of GDP. The cost of racial achievement gap
accounts for 2–4 percent of the 2008 GDP. This percentage is likely to increase as
blacks and Hispanics continue to account for a higher proportion of the population and
workforce. Furthermore, it was estimated that $310 billion would be added to the US
economy by 2020 if minority students graduated at the same rate as white
students. Even more substantial is the narrowing of educational achievement levels in
the US compared to those of higher-achieving nations, such as Finland and Korea.
McKinsey & Company estimate a $1.3 trillion to $2.3 trillion, or a 9 to 16 percent
difference in GDP. Furthermore, if high school dropouts were to cut in half, over $45
billion would be added in savings and additional revenue. In a single high school class,
halving the dropout rate would be able to support over 54,000 new jobs, and increase
GDP by as much as $9.6 billion. Overall, the cost of high school drop outs on the US
economy is roughly $355 billion.
$3.7 billion would be saved on community college remediation costs and lost earnings if
all high school students were ready for college. Furthermore, if high school graduation
rates for males raised by 5 percent, cutting back on crime spending and increasing
earnings each year would lead to an $8 billion increase the US economy.
Job Opportunities
As the United States' economy has moved towards a globalized knowledge-based
economy, education has become even more important for attaining jobs and a stable
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