Want Upward Mobility? Get an Education – If You Can Afford It

In a recent article on social mobility in the U.S., Jennifer Wadsworth discussed data on the effects of a child’s family income from The Hamilton Project’s recent policy memo, “Thirteen Economic Facts About Social Mobility and the Role of Education.” Wadsworth highlighted a chart from the paper on the probability of a child’s future income level, given their parents’ income level, which suggests children born into low-income families are likely to stay at the low end of the income distribution when they grow up. “That inequality manifests itself in higher education, too. While graduate rates for wealthy students continues to climb, those for their low-income counterparts remain stagnant,” Wadsworth writes. To read the full piece, click here.