September 2006
Emily Beller and Michael Hout examine trends in U.S. social mobility, especially as it relates to
the degree to which a person’s income or occupation depends on his or her parents’ background
and to the independent contribution of economic growth.
They also compare U.S.
social mobility with that in other countries. They conclude that slower economic growth since
1975 and the concentration of that growth among the wealthy have slowed the pace of U.S.
social mobility.
In measuring mobility, economists tend to look at income and…
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