Housing Wealth and Higher Education: Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility

The Economic Mobility Project's report, Housing Wealth and Higher Education: Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility, assesses how changes in housing wealth during the recent boom and bust affected students' higher education decisions. Report author Michael Lovenheim, assistant professor at Cornell University, developed a model using data from the 2001-2005 housing boom. The model shows that low- and middle-income students whose families experienced increases in housing wealth just before reaching college age were more likely to attend college, more likely to attend higher-quality universities, and more likely to graduate. The report suggests that higher education decisions are highly sensitive to fluctuations in family resources. (DECEMBER 2011) More...

	Does America Promote Mobility As Well As Other Nations? The Pew Economic Mobility Project's fact sheet, Does America Promote Mobility As Well As Other Nations?, previews selected key findings from a multi-country study of economic mobility led by the Russell Sage Foundation with additional funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Sutton Trust. Researchers in 10 countries investigated how socioeconomic advantage, as measured by parents' education, is transmitted over the course of one's life. The results show that in the United States, there is a stronger link between parents' education and children's economic, educational, and socio-emotional outcomes than in any other country investigated. (NOVEMBER 2011) More...
	Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking Up from the American Dream The Pew Economic Mobility Project's report, Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking Up from the American Dream, examines potential factors that cause some Americans who grow up in the middle class to fall down the economic ladder as adults. The report finds that marital status, education, test scores and drug use have a strong influence on whether a middle-class child loses economic ground as an adult. Race and gender also are factors in who falls out of the middle class. (SEPTEMBER 2011) More...
	Economic Mobility and the American Dream - Where Do We Stand in the Wake of the Great Recession? The Pew Economic Mobility Project conducted an update to its 2009 national poll to reassess the public's perceptions of economic mobility and the American Dream two years later, as the nation emerges from the Great Recession. While pessimism about their own economic circumstances has increased, Americans remain optimistic about the future. They see a role for government to help poor and middle-class Americans succeed, but a majority believes the government currently does more to harm than to help economic mobility. (MAY 2011) More...
	Collateral Costs: Incarceration's Effect on Economic Mobility Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility is a collaborative effort between Pew’s Economic Mobility Project and its Public Safety Performance Project. The report examines the impact of incarceration on the economic opportunity and mobility of former inmates and their families. In addition, Collateral Costs examines the prison population by race/ethnicity and educational levels. It finds that incarceration reduces former inmates’ earnings by 40 percent and limits their future economic mobility and that one in every 28 children in America has a parent behind bars, up from one in 125 just 25 years ago. The report’s findings are based on research by Professor Bruce Western of Harvard University and Professor Becky Pettit of the University of Washington. (SEPTEMBER 2010) More...
	Welfare Reform and Intergenerational Mobility The Economic Mobility Project’s latest release, Welfare Reform and Intergenerational Mobility, reviews research on the impact of the 1996 welfare reform law on the economic mobility of TANF recipients and their children. By Rachel Dunifon of Cornell University, the review finds that research investigating the impact of welfare reform on the economic outcomes of children is limited, but the research that does exist shows no evidence that children have seen large benefits or harm as a result of the legislation. (MAY 2010) More...
	Family Structure and the Economic Mobility of Children Family Structure and the Economic Mobility of Children explores the relationship between parental marital status and intergenerational economic mobility. Co-authored by Thomas DeLeire of the University of Wisconsin and Leonard M. Lopoo of Syracuse University, the report compares the economic mobility outcomes for children who were born to single mothers, divorced parents, and continuously married parents. It finds that, across the income distribution, divorce is particularly harmful for children’s economic mobility in both absolute and relative terms. The report also highlights the striking differences in economic mobility outcomes for white and African American children, but finds that family structure does not fully explain these differences. To view the full report, click on the report image. (MAY 2010) More...
	Chasing the Same Dream, Climbing Different Ladders: Economic Mobility in the United States and Canada Chasing the Same Dream, Climbing Different Ladders: Economic Mobility in the United States and Canada examines intergenerational economic mobility trends in both countries. Authored by Miles Corak of the University of Ottawa, the report finds notable differences in economic mobility outcomes among citizens in the United States and Canada. Specifically, Americans are more likely to be “stuck” at the top and bottom of the income ladder over a generation than are Canadians. (JANUARY 2010) More...
	A Penny Saved is Mobility Earned: Advancing Economic Mobility Through Savings This report finds that having parents with high-savings positively impacts one's upward mobility, particularly for children of low-income parents; having high-savings oneself increases the chances of moving up from the bottom of the income ladder. (NOVEMBER 2009) More...
	Renewing the American Dream: A Road Map to Enhancing Economic Mobility in America Comprised of more than 22 policy ideas, the breadth of topics covered in the road map demonstrates that there is no “silver bullet” to improve economic mobility in America. Throughout one’s life, individuals make choices and experience institutions, such as schools and labor markets, that determine future economic outcomes. (NOVEMBER 2009) More...
	Strengthening Community Colleges' Influence on Economic Mobility Community colleges are an important avenue to upward mobility no matter the students’ background, income level, or high school accomplishments. This report finds that an associate degree is particularly meaningful for low-income, high-achieving high school students—over half of whom transfer to four-year colleges and, of those who transfer, three-quarters earn a bachelor’s degree. (OCTOBER 2009) More...
	Neighborhoods and the Black-White Mobility Gap One of the most powerful findings of the Economic Mobility Project's research to date has been the striking mobility gap between blacks and whites in America. Over a generation, white children are more likely than blacks to experience upward mobility in adulthood, while black children are more likely than whites to experience downward mobility. This report, authored by New York University sociologist, Patrick Sharkey, finds that growing up in a high-poverty neighborhood increases the risk of experiencing downward mobility and explains a sizable portion of the black-white downward mobility gap. (JULY 2009) More...
	Ups and Downs: Does the American Economy Still Promote Upward Mobility? Focusing on the household incomes of working-age adults (those aged 26 to 59), this report assesses how income drops, gains, and recovery have varied from 1967 through 2004. The analyses include both short- and longer-term fluctuations in income, examining how people are able to recover from income declines, how long their recovery takes, and differences across demographic groups in both. (JUNE 2009) More...
	A Detailed Picture of Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital As the previous Economic Mobility Project report Pathways to Economic Mobility found, education---including parental education ---is a key indicator of one's ability to move up or down the economic ladder. (MAY 2009) More...
	Promoting Upward Mobility by Increasing Post-Secondary Education Getting a postsecondary education is among the most important factors in determining whether a person achieves the American Dream of upward economic mobility. This report finds that many low-income students miss out on college because they don't have good information about how significantly financial aid can reduce the cost of tuition, and the process for obtaining aid is not as straightforward and timely as it could be. (MAY 2009) More...
	Economic Mobility Poll In early 2009, the project commissioned a national survey and series of focus groups to provide a more accurate picture of how Americans view their own economic mobility and to better understand how their perceptions square with the reality of the project’s data. What defines Americans’ experience with mobility? What do we believe are the key determinants of our, and others’, mobility? How do our perceptions and perspectives on mobility differ as we look to the near future, as well as over generations, and how has this changed? (JANUARY 2009) More...
	U.S. Intragenerational Economic Mobility From 1984 to 2004: Trends and Implications This research brief shows that despite notable shifts in the US economy over the past two decades, mobility rates have changed little, and there remains considerable immobility for those who start at the bottom of the income ladder. (NOVEMBER 2008) More...
	Pathways to Economic Mobility: Key Indicators The assumption that anyone can get ahead based on capability and effort is central to the idea of the American Dream. This report provides an overview of the factors that most affect the likelihood that someone will move up, or down, the economic ladder. The report classifies these factors into three distinct categories: social capital, human capital and financial capital. (JULY 2008) More...
	Upward Intergenerational Mobility in the United States This report introduces two new measures of upward economic mobility, providing a more detailed look at economic mobility. It captures not only whether children surpass their parents’ income rung, but also the magnitude of their movement up the income ladder. It finds that while many experience upward mobility, the magnitude of their rise is minimal. (MAY 2008) More...
	How Much Does the Federal Government Spend to Promote Economic Mobility & for Whom? This comprehensive analysis of the federal budget focuses on the extent of federal direct spending and tax expenditures on economic mobility in America. How much does the federal government invest to encourage economic mobility? What form does this encouragement take? And who benefits from these efforts? (FEBRUARY 2008) More...
	Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America While the promise of economic opportunity has been a central component of the American Dream, growing income inequality and slower economic growth suggest that now is an important moment to review the facts about opportunity and mobility in America. This paper takes a new look at the trends and issues impacting mobility including race, gender, international comparisons, education, wealth and immigration. (FEBRUARY 2008) More...
	Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well? The American Dream unites us in a common quest for individual and national success. New data raises provocative questions about the continuing ability of all Americans to move up the economic ladder and calls into question whether the American economic meritocracy is alive and well. This paper examines whether a rising tide lifts all ships or whether individual effort and talent allow a family’s boat to rise above others – or whether economic mobility is the combination of both. (MAY 2007) More...
	Literature Reviews The literature reviews presented here cover a broad range of individual and family factors including education, families, health, self-employment and wealth, and they address a variety of social factors including discrimination, globalization, immigration, labor market institutions and tax and spending policy. (MARCH 2008) More...