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 Mobility403
Equitable Growth in Conversation: an interview with the OECD’s Stefano Scarpetta
November 3, 2016
November 3, 2016
How economic inequality affects children’s outcomes
October 31, 2016
October 31, 2016
Inequality and mobility using income, consumption, and wealth for the same individuals
September 7, 2016
September 7, 2016
Preschool is about more than a third grade test score
August 9, 2016
August 9, 2016
Protecting against risk can help boost U.S. entrepreneurship
July 26, 2016
July 26, 2016
New analysis shows it is more difficult for workers to move up the income ladder
July 14, 2016
July 14, 2016
Effect of unemployment insurance benefits on match quality and job mobility
July 11, 2016
July 11, 2016
The importance of childhood education and the birth lottery for U.S. innovation
July 6, 2016
July 6, 2016
Social preferences at work: Evidence from online lab experiments and job-to-job mobility in the LEHD dataset
July 1, 2016
July 1, 2016
Explore the Equitable Growth network of experts around the country and get answers to today's most pressing questions!