Report

• Retirement Security Across Generations

  May 17, 2013 - This report explores how the Great Recession affected the wealth and retirement security of baby boomers relative to younger and older age groups. It also explores the retirement security of each group by calculating replacement rates, or the extent to which retirees can use their accumulated wealth and savings to replace preretirement income.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Hard Choices: Navigating the Economic Shock of Unemployment

  Apr 03, 2013 - Hard Choices: Navigating the Economic Shock of Unemployment explores how families weather job loss, with specific attention to differences by race and family income.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Explore How Income and Wealth Changes Across Generations

  Feb 26, 2013 - This interactive tool by Pew's Economic Mobility Project displays not only which Americans are more likely to exceed or fall short of the income and wealth held by their parents, but—for the first time—by how much. It provides a unique way to analyze absolute mobility in America and drill down into the specific effects of education level, race, and number of earners present in a household.

  Read More

• How Much Protection Does a College Degree Afford?

  Jan 08, 2013 - This report examines the impact of the Great Recession on the early labor market outcomes of recent college graduates compared to less-educated groups.

  Read More

• Weathering the Great Recession

  Nov 14, 2012 - This issue brief from the Economic Mobility Project explores how residents of high- and low-poverty neighborhoods fared in terms of employment, wages, wealth, and housing losses during the Great Recession.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• When Baby Boomers Delay Retirement, Do Younger Workers Suffer?

  Sep 12, 2012 - Has extended Baby Boomer employment negatively affected the labor force activity of the young during the Great Recession. The notion that younger and older workers are engaged in a zero-sum game for a fixed number of jobs is called the “lump-of-labor” theory. This issue brief explores whether this theory has held true.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Pursuing the American Dream: Economic Mobility Across Generations

  Jul 09, 2012 - Pursuing the American Dream uses the most current data to measure mobility by family income, wealth, and personal earnings to reveal how closely tied a person’s place on the economic ladder is to that of his or her parents’.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Examining Economic Mobility and the American Dream Across Demographics

  Mar 21, 2012 - In the wake of the Great Recession, the Economic Mobility Project updated its 2009 national poll to reassess public perceptions of economic mobility and the American Dream.

  Read More

• Housing Wealth and Higher Education: Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility

  Dec 16, 2011 - Through nonpartisan research on the facts and drivers of economic mobility, the Economic Mobility Project is fostering an informed discussion about the health and status of the American Dream.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Does America Promote Economic Mobility As Well As Other Nations?

  Nov 17, 2011 - This fact sheet previews selected key findings from a multi-country study of economic mobility. Researchers in 10 countries investigated how socioeconomic advantage, as measured by parents’ education, is transmitted over the course of one’s life. The results show that in the United States, there is a stronger link between parents’ education and children’s economic, educational, and socio-emotional outcomes than in any other country investigated. 

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking Up from the American Dream

  Sep 06, 2011 - The idea that children will grow up to be better off than their parents is a central component of the American Dream, and sustains American optimism. However, a new report from Pew’s Economic Mobility Project finds that a middle-class upbringing does not guarantee the same status over the course of a lifetime.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Video: Is the American Dream Alive and Well?

  Sep 02, 2011 - Pew’s Erin Currier discusses the findings of a national poll that assessed the public’s perceptions of economic mobility in the wake of the Great Recession.

  Read More

• Video: Economic Mobility & the American Dream

  Aug 15, 2011 - There are two ways of measuring economic mobility: absolute and relative. Each offers an understanding of the health and status of the American Dream; however, neither measure can be taken in isolation for a complete picture of economic mobility in our country. This video animates the difference between these two measures.  

  Read More

• Economic Mobility and the American Dream– Where Do We Stand in the Wake of the Great Recession

  May 19, 2011 - A new national poll released by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, finds that 83 percent of Americans support a government role in promoting upward economic mobility, a sentiment that cuts across party lines. In fact, 58 percent think it could do even more.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Collateral Costs: Incarceration's Effect on Economic Mobility

  Sep 28, 2010 - Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility is a collaborative effort between Pew’s Economic Mobility Project and its Public Safety Performance Project (PSPP). The report examines the impact of incarceration on the economic opportunity and mobility of former inmates and their families. In addition, Collateral Costs examines the prison population by race/ethnicity and educational levels. It finds that incarceration reduces former inmates’ earnings by 40 percent and limits their future economic mobility and that one in every 28 children in America has a parent behind bars, up from one in 125 just 25 years ago. The report’s findings are based on research by Professor Bruce Western of Harvard University and Professor Becky Pettit of the University of Washington. 

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Welfare Reform and Intergenerational Mobility

  May 25, 2010 - This review outlines the key components of welfare reform, changes in parental welfare use since 1996, and how these changes might impact children’s economic outcomes.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Family Structure and the Economic Mobility of Children

  May 18, 2010 - This paper investigates how mobility rates of children whose mothers were continuously married differ from those of children of divorced mothers, and from those of children born to unmarried mothers.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Chasing the Same Dream, Climbing Different Ladders

  Jan 21, 2010 - Chasing the Same Dream, Climbing Different Ladders is the latest report issued by the Pew Economic Mobility Project. The report details the differences in economic mobility between Americans and Canadians.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• A Penny Saved is Mobility Earned

  Nov 19, 2009 - This report finds that having parents with high savings positively impacts one's upward mobility, particularly for children of low-income parents; having high savings oneself increases the chances of moving up from the bottom of the income ladder.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Renewing the American Dream: A Road Map to Enhancing Economic Mobility in America

  Nov 06, 2009 - Drawing on the expertise of Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, its ideologically diverse group of principals, and three years of research (with more to come), we  have compiled a series of policy ideas in the report Renewing the American Dream: A Road Map to Enhancing Economic Mobility in America.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Strengthening Community Colleges’ Influence on Economic Mobility

  Oct 20, 2009 - As the nation enters what appears likely to be a slow and prolonged economic recovery, the central role that postsecondary education plays in contributing to upward mobility is receiving renewed attention.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Neighborhoods and the Black-White Mobility Gap

  Jul 27, 2009 - One of the most powerful findings of the Economic Mobility Project’s research to date has been the striking mobility gap between blacks and whites in America. This report explores one potentially important factor behind the black-white mobility gap: the impact of neighborhood poverty rates experienced during childhood.  

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Ups and Downs: Does the American Economy Still Promote Upward Mobility?

  Jun 18, 2009 - According to this report from Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, the likelihood that Americans experience a two- or ten-year income drop has been consistent over the last forty years. Recovery rates from those losses have also been constant—half of adults who suffer a two-year income loss of more than 25 percent recover within four years. However, half of those suffering such a drop over ten years fall permanently behind their peers and do not fully recover.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Promoting Economic Mobility by Increasing Postsecondary Education

  May 12, 2009 - The facts are clear: a college education strongly affects whether Americans can make the climb up the income ladder. Data covering the last four decades show that adults who have degrees from two-year or four-year colleges have far higher family incomes than do adults who have only a high school degree or are high school dropouts.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Findings from a National Survey & Focus Groups on Economic Mobility

  Mar 12, 2009 - According to a new national public opinion poll conducted for Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, nearly eight-in-ten Americans believe it is still possible to improve their economic standing and remain optimistic that their family’s economic circumstances will improve within their lifetime and across generations.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• U.S. Intragenerational Economic Mobility from 1984 to 2004: Trends and Implications

  Nov 12, 2008 - Americans are increasingly worried about their economic mobility — over half say they have not moved ahead, and nearly a third said they have fallen behind.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Pathways to Economic Mobility: Key Indicators

  Sep 18, 2008 - The assumption that anyone can get ahead based on capability and effort is central to the idea of the American Dream. This report from the Economic Mobility Project provides an overview of the factors that seem to most affect the likelihood that someone will move up, or down, the economic ladder in the United States.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Upward Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the United States

  May 29, 2008 - This report introduces two new measures of upward economic mobility. First, it captures not only whether children surpass their parents income position when compared to their peers, but also the magnitude of their movement up the income ladder. Second, the report explores factors that may account for differences in rates of upward economic mobility between black and white families.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Economic Mobility in America

  Feb 20, 2008 - As part of its continuing investigation of opportunity in America, the Economic Mobility Project released new chapters on education, wealth, international comparisons and mobility trends over time. These, combined with previously released chapters on gender, race, immigration and families, comprise the entire volume.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Economic Mobility and Federal Government Spending

  Feb 04, 2008 - Education, work experience and saving enhance the opportunity for upward economic mobility. But exactly how much does the federal government encourage economic mobility?

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Economic Mobility of Black and White Families

  Nov 13, 2007 - Median family incomes have risen for both black and white families, but less so for black families, according to the latest report from the Economic Mobility Project.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Economic Mobility of Men and Women

  Nov 13, 2007 - Although they may take different routes, sons and daughters have fairly similar rates of mobility across generations, according to the latest report from the Economic Mobility Project.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Economic Mobility of Families Across Generations

  Nov 13, 2007 - The current generation of adults is better off than the previous one but their incomes are more unevenly distributed, according to the latest report from the Economic Mobility Project.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Economic Mobility of U.S. Immigrants

  Jul 25, 2007 - Immigrants are still climbing America's economic ladder, but trends suggest progress is slowing, according to the latest report from the Economic Mobility Project.

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)

• Is the American Dream Alive and Well?

  May 25, 2007 - American men have less income than their fathers’ generation did at the same age, according to an analysis by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Comprised of a

  Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)