Upward Intergenerational Mobility in the United States
In an era of rising income inequality, understanding the extent of economic mobility from one generation to the next in America has never been more important. Only if there is considerable opportunity for children from disadvantaged backgrounds to move beyond their parents' place in the income distribution, may economic inequality be viewed as tolerable. This report introduces two new and flexible measures to examine upward relative mobility-the extent to which children can rise above their parents' position when compared to their peers. The report also explores various factors that might account for racial differences in upward economic mobility rates, including test scores that measure academic skills, educational attainment, health, family structure and self esteem. The report is authored by economist and Economic Mobility Project advisory board member Dr. Bhashkar Mazumder.
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(MAY 2008)
- Figure 1: Percent of Children Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 2: Comparing Upward Mobility Using Cumulative Samples vs Interval-Based Sample
- Figure 3a: Percent of White Children Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 3b: Percent of Black Children Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 4: Percent of Children Exceeding Their Parents’ Income Range, by Race
- Figure 5: Percent of Children Who Exceed Their Parents’ Percentile, by Race
- Figure 6: Percent of Children Who Move Up at Least 20 Percentiles, by Race
- Figure 7: Percent of Children Exceeding Their Parents’ Income Percentile, by Race
- Figure 8a: Percent of Men Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 8b: Percent of Women Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 9: Percent of Children Who Exceed Their Parents’ Income Range, by Sex
- Figure 10: Percent of Children Who Exceed Their Parents’ Income Range, or Move Up at Least 20 Percentiles
- Figure 11a: Percent of White Men Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 11b: Percent of White Women Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 11c: Percent of Black Men Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 11d: Percent of Black Women Reaching Each Quintile
- Figure 12: Percent of ChildrenWho Move Up At Least 20 Percentiles, by Race and Sex
- Figure 13: Percent of Children Moving Up and Out of the Bottom Quintile, Conditional on AFQT Score, by Race
- Figure 14: Percent of Children Moving Up and Out of the Bottom Quintile, Conditional on Own Educational Attainment, by Race
- Figure 15: Percent of Children Moving Up and Out of the Bottom Quintile, Conditional on Fatalism Scale, by Race
- Figure 16: Percent of Children Moving Up and Out of the Bottom Quintile, Conditional on Self Esteem, by Race
- Figure 17: Percent of Children Moving up and Out of the Bottom Quintile, Conditional on Family Structure, by Race
- Figure 18: Percent of Children Moving Up and Out of the Bottom Quintile, Conditional on Adolescent Health, by Race
- Figure 19: Percent of Children Moving Up and Out of the Bottom Quintile, Conditional on Adult Health, by Race
- Table 1: Upward Transition Rates and Upward Mobility Estimates for Children in Bottom Half of the Income Distribution, Using Cumulative Samples
- Table 2: Upward Transition Rates and Upward Mobility Estimates for Children in Bottom Half of the Income Distribution, Using Intervals of Parent Income Percentiles
