Social Policy

Income Distribution

REUTERS/Deborah L. Cohen - The home of Edward Zwirner and wife Alison Loeppert in Evanston, Illinois, October 2, 2012.

Blog Post

Does a Strong Middle Class Predict Upward Social Mobility for the Poor?

September 6, 2013, Elisabeth Jacobs

Fulfillment of the American Dream is effected by the relationships between opportunity, low levels of upward social mobility, and high levels of economic inequality. To better understand and untangle these relationships, Elisabeth Jacobs turns attention to a new analysis concluding that the size of a region's middle class is strongly correlated with the probability of upward mobility for a child born poor in that region.

  • In the News

    Rebalancing of the distribution of income may play a role in unlocking the U.S. economy’s growth potential in a sustainable way.

    November 30, 2012, Kemal Derviş, Reuters
  • In the News

    A growing number of economists suspect that once inequality passes a certain point it may jeopardize economic stability and economic growth.

    November 29, 2012, Kemal Derviş, New York Times
  • In the News

    Because differences in income in the U.S. are believed to be related to skill and effort, and because social mobility is assumed to be high, inequality seems to be more acceptable than in Europe.

    October 16, 2012, Isabel V. Sawhill, The Guardian
  • In the News

    A big sliver of American society that generally does well tends to cluster in Washington. When people make the argument that $250,000 is middle income, that’s way higher than most of the country regards as middle income. But here in Washington, your next-door neighbor has that kind of income.

    September 20, 2012, William H. Frey, Washington Post
  • In the News

    We don't see very important neighborhood effects on those two outcomes that people have focused on. But the things that people had been focused on and worried about with neighborhoods aren't the full story. Helping poor families is about a lot more than just increasing their income.

    September 20, 2012, Jens Ludwig, Wall Street Journal
  • In the News

    [The price of gas] is the most visible price in the United States. It is in your face, literally as you drive down the street every day.

    April 23, 2012, William A. Galston, Reuters
  • Expert Q & A

    Great Recession Pushing Poverty Up

    September 16, 2010, Ron Haskins

  • Expert Q & A

    Is the American Dream a Myth?

    October 19, 2009, Ron Haskins and Isabel V. Sawhill

  • Expert Q & A

    Low-Income Families and Communities

    August 12, 2008, Alan Berube

  • Expert Q & A

    Affordable Housing, Rental Housing and Home Ownership

    April 24, 2008, Bruce Katz and Martha Raddatz

View All Research on Income Distribution ›Show 4 More