Economic mobility

About: Economic mobility is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 888 publications have been published within this topic receiving 22427 citations.

Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility

Abstract: My focus is on the degree to which increasing inequality in the high-income countries, particularly in the United States, is likely to limit economic mobility for the next generation of young adults. I discuss the underlying drivers of opportunity that generate the relationship between inequality and intergenerational mobility. The goal is to explain why America differs from other countries, how intergenerational mobility will change in an era of higher inequality, and how the process is different for the top 1 percent. I begin by presenting evidence that countries with more inequality at one point in time also experience less earnings mobility across the generations, a relationship that has been called “The Great Gatsby Curve.” The interaction between families, labor markets, and public policies all structure a child's opportunities and determine the extent to which adult earnings are related to family background—but they do so in different ways across national contexts. Both cross-country compa...

Heaven's Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy

Abstract: The US took in more than a million immigrants per year in the late 1990s, more than at any other time in history. For humanitarian and many other reasons, this may be good news. But as George Borjas shows in this text, it's decidedly mixed news for the American economy - and positively bad news for the country's poorest citizens. Borjas reveals that the benefits of immigration have been greatly exaggerated and that, if we allow immigration to continue unabated and unmodified, we are supporting an astonishing transfer of wealth from the poorest people in the country, who are disproportionately minorities, to the richest. In the course of the book, Borjas carefully analyzes immigrants' skills, national origins, welfare use, economic mobility, and impact on the labour market, and he makes use of new data to trace current trends in ethnic segregation. He also evaluates the implications of the evidence for the type of immigration policy that the US should pursue.

Skills, education, and the rise of earnings inequality among the “other 99 percent”

Abstract: The singular focus of public debate on the “top 1 percent” of households overlooks the component of earnings inequality that is arguably most consequential for the “other 99 percent” of citizens: the dramatic growth in the wage premium associated with higher education and cognitive ability. This Review documents the central role of both the supply and demand for skills in shaping inequality, discusses why skill demands have persistently risen in industrialized countries, and considers the economic value of inequality alongside its potential social costs. I conclude by highlighting the constructive role for public policy in fostering skills formation and preserving economic mobility.

Family Structure and the Reproduction of Inequalities

Abstract: Over the past four decades, income inequality has increased and family structures have diversified. We argue that family structure has become an important mechanism for the reproduction of class, race, and gender inequalities. We review studies of income inequality and family structure changes and find a wide range of estimates of the correlation. We discuss how increases in income inequality may lead to increases in single motherhood, particularly among less educated women. Single motherhood in turn decreases intergenerational economic mobility by affecting children's material resources and the parenting they experience. Because of the unequal distribution of family structure by race and the negative effects of single motherhood, family structure changes exacerbate racial inequalities. Gender inequalities also increase as mothers incur more child-related costs and fewer fathers experience family life with children.

Economic mobility and poverty dynamics in developing countries

Abstract: This study provides an introduction to this special issue of The Journal of Development Studies on economic mobility and poverty dynamics in developing countries In addition to providing a conceptual framework, it outlines how the contributions fit into the extant literature A series of regularities emerge across these studies The poor consist of those who are always poor — poor at all dates — and those who move in and out of poverty, with the latter group tending to be strikingly large Such movements in and out of poverty are apparent when looking at poverty in either absolute or relative terms Changes in returns to endowments can be a potent source of increased incomes Finally, seemingly transitory shocks can have long‐term consequences The study concludes by drawing out the policy implications of these regularities