Journal Article

U.S. economic mobility: the dream and the data

Abstract: Economic mobility is a core principle of the American narrative and the basis for the American Dream. However, research suggests that the United States may not be as mobile as Americans believe. The United States has high absolute mobility in the sense that children readily become richer than their parents. But the nation appears to fall short on relative mobility, which is the ability of children to change their rank in the income distribution relative to their parents. ; This Economic Letter is based on a presentation given by Mary Daly in April 2012.

Keywords: Income distribution; Labor mobility;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Part of Series: FRBSF Economic Letter

Publication Date: 2013

Order Number: 06