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 Mobility398
College and intergenerational mobility: New evidence from administrative data
April 4, 2016
April 4, 2016
Intragenerational income mobility in the United States
April 4, 2016
April 4, 2016
Long-run earnings mobility and earnings inequality: Evidence from SIPP linked administrative earnings data
April 4, 2016
April 4, 2016
Does inequality affect high school dropout rates?
March 14, 2016
March 14, 2016
What’s your college degree worth? It may depend on your parents’ income
March 9, 2016
March 9, 2016
How the student debt crisis affects African Americans and Latinos
February 17, 2016
February 17, 2016
What do trends in economic inequality imply for innovation and entrepreneurship?
February 16, 2016
February 16, 2016
Today’s big U.S. economic trade-off isn’t equality or efficiency
May 5, 2015
May 5, 2015
The economic and fiscal consequences of improving U.S. educational outcomes
February 2, 2015
February 2, 2015
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