1. Economic Mobility and the American Dream NASCSP 2011 Conferencev
Economic Mobility and the American Dream
NASCSP 2011 Conference
September 22, 2011

2. Agenda Who we are and why we care about economic mobility in America
Key findings from the Economic Mobility Project
What do we believe the federal government can do to help?
Questions and discussion
November 19, 2019

3. The Economic Mobility Project: Who We Are
Created in September 2006
Project Mission and Goals:
To broaden the focus of the current economic debate in America to include economic mobility
To provide the public and policymakers with the best available facts, figures and trends related to economic mobility
To explore bipartisan policy solutions and collaboratively evaluate policy proposals that may enhance economic mobility
November 19, 2019

4. EMP: Who We Are (cont’d)
Principals from 5 Distinguished Think Tanks
The American Enterprise Institute
The Brookings Institution
The Heritage Foundation
The Urban Institute
The New America Foundation
National Advisory Board of Leading Academics
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5. Perceptions of Mobility: Enduring American Optimism
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6. Absolute Mobility
Measures how overall standard of living changes over time
Refers to a dynamic in which a rising tide lifts all boats
Upward absolute mobility often occurs simply because of economic growth
Most often focused on by the political right
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7. Two-thirds have higher family income than their parents
Glass Half Full:
Two-thirds have higher family income than their parents
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8. Relative Mobility
Measures the ability of individuals to change place relative to others, moving up or down the ranks
No matter what is happening to the economy as a whole, people change positions in the income distribution
Most often the focus of the political left
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9. Glass Half Empty: Significant “Stickiness” at the Bottom
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10. Who are the 42% of Americans Stuck at the Bottom?
They are more likely to be female
They are more likely to be African American
They also are less likely to have a college degree
While 82% of those in bottom are doing better in absolute terms, nearly half of Americans don’t leave the bottom over a generation
This highlights the importance of looking at absolute and relative mobility together
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11. African American Downward Mobility
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12. How is the Middle Class Faring?
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13. Key Indicators of Mobility in America
Social Capital Indicators
Financial Capital Indicators
Family structure
Wealth transfers
Parenting skills and education
Homeownership
School-based relationships
Savings (esp. retirement savings
Community influences
Entrepreneurship
Work-related networks
Human Capital Indicators
Child’s education level
Parents education level
Health
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14. Social Capital Detail: Neighborhood Poverty
Average Neighborhood Poverty During Childhood
Among Black and White Children Born and
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15. Human Capital Detail: Postsecondary Education
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16. Financial Capital Detail: Personal Savings
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17. Should the Government Invest in Mobility?
83 percent of Americans want the government to help low- and middle-income people, a sentiment that cuts across party lines
But by a 52 to 27 percent margin, Americans believe the government does more to hurt than to help people move up the economic ladder
Large majorities believe the government could adopt mobility-enhancing policies that would be effective, including such efforts as making college more affordable, supporting job training and early childhood education
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18. Renewing the American Dream: A Road Map to Enhancing Economic Mobility in America
Set of nonpartisan policy recommendations to ensure that the American Dream of upward mobility is a reality for all Americans, no matter family background or income
Based on the best available facts, figures and trends in economic mobility, assembled by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project over the last 3 years
Represents consensus of our diverse principals group with perspectives spanning the ideological spectrum
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19. Why the Road Map is Unique
Truly nonpartisan, reflecting ideas and perspectives from each of our principals
Grounded in the project’s fact base and in the broader mobility literature
Recommendations are supported by the best available evidence
Encourages that all policies are implemented with a rigorous evaluation component
Includes a strong recommendation for improved datasets and information with which to study the impact of policy on mobility over generations
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20. Overview Human Capital
Promote children’s human capital development early in life
Ensure all children and teens have access to effective educational programs
Promote enrollment in and completion of postsecondary education
Help low-wage workers acquire skills needed for high-quality, well-paid jobs
Social Capital
Reorient public assistance programs towards mobility enhancement
Family formation and teen pregnancy reduction
Responsible fatherhood
Neighborhoods
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21. Overview, continued Financial Capital
Encourage and promote lifelong savings early in life
Provide more equal treatment of savings for higher education
Increase access to homeownership as a safe and secure savings vehicle
Promote and increase retirement savings
Support entrepreneurship throughout the business life cycle
Improve data and evaluation to measure economic mobility
Enable greater research and evaluation of economic mobility
November 19, 2019

22. Erin Currier, Project Manager
Questions?
Erin Currier, Project Manager
November 19, 2019