Chetty et al. (2014) summarize their recent studies on intergenerational economic mobility.
“Is America the “Land of Opportunity”? In two recent studies, we find that: (1) Upward income mobility varies substantially within the U.S. Areas with greater mobility tend to have five characteristics: less segregation, less income inequality, better schools, greater social capital, and more stable families. (2) Contrary to popular perception, economic mobility has not changed significantly over time; however, it is consistently lower in the U.S. than in most developed countries.”
Reference
Chetty, Raj, Hendren, Nathaniel, Kline, Patrick, and Saez, Emmanuel. (2014). Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States. National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER Working Paper 19843.
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