economic mobility

February 13, 2017

Prosperity matters more than social mobility or income inequality

Social mobility is the ability of an individual or family to improve (or lower) their economic status. The two main types of social mobility are intergenerational (i.e., a person is better off than their parents or grandparents) or intragenerational (i.e., Continue Reading...

September 14, 2016

The most surprising fact about American poverty

Every year, the U.S. Census comes out with its report on incomes and poverty. And every year the same finding repeatedly surprises me. As economist David Henderson says, the report “always shows that there is mobility between income categories, even in the short run, and that poverty is temporary for most people in America who experience it. Continue Reading...

January 21, 2015

3 Disturbing Facts About the Social Mobility of Black Americans

One of the most important important socio-economic factors in America is also one of the least talked about: social mobility. Social mobility is the ability of an individual or family to improve (or lower) their economic status. Continue Reading...

July 23, 2013

Why social mobility matters—and income inequality does not

When it comes to household income, progressives tend to start with their intuitive understanding of fairness (i.e., some people have a lot more income than others), move to the solution (redistribution of income and wealth from those who have more to those who have less), and only then to develop a metric that justifies implementing their solution: income inequality. Continue Reading...