Economic mobility measures the relationship between a parent and child’s economic outcomes, usually in terms of income. Too often, an individual’s economic outcome in the United States is determined by parental resources, race, and privilege, rather than individual effort and talent. In addition, rising economic inequality over the past several decades means that the consequences of stalled or falling economic mobility have gotten worse. Equitable Growth seeks to understand how today’s inequalities could be foreclosing equality of opportunity for future generations.
Featured work
Wealth as a driver of income and consumption mobility in the United States
June 7, 2023
June 7, 2023
New research suggests that social circles affect upward mobility among U.S. children and young adults
September 7, 2022
September 7, 2022
Race and the lack of intergenerational economic mobility in the United States
February 18, 2020
February 18, 2020
Factsheet: What the research says about the economic impacts of reproductive care
June 27, 2022
June 27, 2022
Explore Content in Economic Mobility406
Parental resources and the career choices of young workers
July 25, 2018
July 25, 2018
What works and what workers try: Social mobility paths beyond the bachelor’s degree and the impact of racialized inequality
July 25, 2018
July 25, 2018
Economic impacts of mentoring for disadvantaged youth: RCT evidence
July 25, 2018
July 25, 2018
From the Urban Institute: “Place and Opportunity”
June 28, 2018
June 28, 2018
Realizing the promise of place-based economics requires more and better data from across the United States
June 28, 2018
June 28, 2018
Equal access to a good education is not just about sound school budgets
April 23, 2018
April 23, 2018
Dinner table entrepreneurship on both sides of the Atlantic
January 19, 2018
January 19, 2018
In conversation with Richard Reeves
December 26, 2017
December 26, 2017
Wealth distribution and social mobility in the US: A quantitative approach
October 10, 2017
October 10, 2017
Income inequality and economic mobility remain defined largely by race and ethnicity in the United States
September 26, 2017
September 26, 2017
There is more to equal access to a good education than sound school budgets
August 15, 2017
August 15, 2017
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