issue Inequality & Mobility

Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how trends in economic inequality and mobility and changes in the economy have affected the concentration of wealth, income, and earnings, and how these distributional shifts have affected the promise of economic security and opportunity.

Photo credit: Monster Ztudio/shutterstock.com

During the mid-20th century, strong economic growth was broadly shared, as incomes increased and children could expect a better quality of life than their parents, though significant disparities across demographic groups remained. In recent decades, wealth, income, and earnings inequality have been rising and mobility declining, and demographic disparities persist. Better understanding these trends and their implications for economic growth will inform evidence-backed policies that improve growth and mobility for people across incomes, regions, and demographic groups.

Featured Research

post

Why the Iran war is bad for U.S. economic growth

Inequality & Mobility
post

Federal policymakers can ensure Trump accounts do not exacerbate inequality in the United States

Inequality & MobilityFamilies
The Rise of Populism

Research-based perspectives on the connection between economic policy and rising support for authoritarian populism

Inequality & Mobility
post

Analyzing recent U.S. economic policies using Equitable Growth’s Inequality Tracker

Inequality & Mobility
post

Factsheet: U.S. economic mobility and policies to increase upward mobility

Inequality & MobilityTax & Macroeconomics
post

Six charts that explain how inequality in the United States changed over the past 20 years

Inequality & Mobility
TOPICS: 1
TOPICS: GDP 2.0

Explore Content in Inequality & Mobility2795

Reset
post

How important is the college wage premium to reducing inequality?

Inequality & MobilityFamilies
post

Patterns of economic mobility in the United States

Inequality & Mobility
post

Immigration reform is pro-growth and pro-equity

Inequality & Mobility
post

Heritage Weighs into the Inequality Discussion with Some Problematic Data Analysis

Inequality & Mobility
post

The labor market is doing better, but not fully recovered

Inequality & MobilityLabor
TOPICS: 1
TOPICS: GDP 2.0
post

Inequality: Making the Point

Inequality & Mobility
post

Marriage promotion isn’t the only solution to America’s mobility problem

Inequality & Mobility
post

A regional look at single moms and upward mobility

Inequality & Mobility
post

Missing the Point on Income Inequality in the 1920s and Today

Inequality & Mobility
post

When does health insurance count as income?

Inequality & Mobility
TOPICS: 1
TOPICS: GDP 2.0
post

Piketty versus Hassett: a primer on after-tax income and inequality

Inequality & Mobility
post

CEO pay, equity and efficiency

Inequality & Mobility

Experts on the issue

Grantee

E. Mark Curtis

Wake Forest University

Learn More
Grantee

Andrew Baker

University of California, Berkeley

Assistant Professor

Learn More
Grantee

Jacob Bastian

Rutgers University

Assistant Professor

Learn More
Grantee

Heather Sarsons

University of Chicago

Learn More
Guest Author

Matto Mildenberger

University of California, Santa Barbara

Learn More
Connect with us!

Explore the Equitable Growth network of experts around the country and get answers to today's most pressing questions!

Get in Touch