Sunday February 12, 2012

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RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioAssessing Income Inequality, Mobility and Opportunity

Scott Winship, February 09, 2012, Senate Budget Committee

A man leans against the wall of City Hall at the Occupy LA encampment Testifying before the Senate Budget Committee, Scott Winship discusses inequality, economic mobility and opportunity in America. Winship clarifies statistics regarding the state of the poor and middle class and notes that policies to promote opportunity and upward mobility can take many forms, including investments in education, reforms to school governance, safety net programs, work, marriage, and savings. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioStop Feeling Sorry for the Middle Class—They’re Doing Just Fine

Scott Winship, February 07, 2012, The New Republic

Homeless man makes a sign on a piece of cardboardScott Winship writes that the idea that up to 95 percent of Americans are struggling may be popular, but is incorrect. Winship argues that the attention paid to the overstated problems of the middle class comes at the expense of the more critical challenges facing the poor. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Obama Administration's Mobility Claims and the "Great Gatsby Curve"

Scott Winship, January 20, 2012, National Review Online

Scott Winship's challenge of the Obama administration's claims regarding economic mobility trends in the United States attracted considerable attention in policy circles. Winship responds to his critics by clarifying the finer points on data and methodology that were central to the debate. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe Power of Circumstance: A New Approach to Measuring Education Inequality

Kevin Watkins, January 11, 2012, The Brookings Institution

The Power of Circumstance: A New Approach to Measuring Education InequalityKevin Watkins examines the resurgence of interest in the issue of education inequality and the opportunities for improving health, literacy and political participation in disadvantaged regions of the world. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioOpportunity in America: The Disadvantages Start at Conception

Isabel V. Sawhill, January 09, 2012, The New York Times

Opportunity in America: The Disadvantages Start at ConceptionIsabel Sawhill discusses mobility and opportunity in America, claiming that upward mobility is particularly constrained for those born into lower classes. Sawhill argues that increased investment in three areas — family planning, early education and higher education — could increase opportunity, economic growth and competitiveness. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioBogeyman Economics: Has Economic Insecurity Been Overstated?

Scott Winship, Winter 2012, National Affairs

Bogeyman Economics: Has Economic Insecurity Been Overstated?Scott Winship challenges the view that most Americans are exposed to overwhelming economic risk, arguing not only that this view is not supported by data, but that it damages the country’s economic prospects by sapping the confidence of consumers, business, and investors. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe President’s Suspect Statistics

Scott Winship, January 02, 2012, National Review

Scott Winship writes that President Obama's claim that upward mobility is growing more difficult in the United States is overstated. While upward mobility is more limited in the United States than in other countries, Winship says that there is little credible evidence that it has fallen over time. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioMobility Is a Problem; Now What?

Ron Haskins, December 23, 2011, The Brookings Institution

Mobility Is a Problem; Now What?With economic mobility in the 2011 news spotlight, Ron Haskins makes policy recommendations to increase opportunity in America. Haskins argues that funding should be sustained for programs with proven, measurable positive outcomes and calls attention to areas beyond government programming, namely inculcating in young people that personal responsibility is the key to success. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My Portfolio2011: The Year that Income Inequality Captured the Public’s Attention

Isabel V. Sawhill, December 19, 2011, The Brookings Institution

2011: The Year that Income Inequality Captured the Public’s AttentionIsabel Sawhill discusses why income inequality was a discussion point in 2011 and explains how and why the incomes of the richest and poorest have diverged so much in the last 30 years. Sawhill also notes what this attention to inequality might mean for the political discussion in 2012. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioIncome and Education as Predictors of Children's School Readiness

Julia B. Isaacs and Katherine Magnuson, December 14, 2011, The Brookings Institution

Income and Education as Predictors of Children's School ReadinessJulia Isaacs and Katherine Magnuson use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Birth (ECLS-B) Cohort to estimate associations between two important indicators of family socioeconomic status—family income and maternal education—and children’s school readiness measured by academic skills, behavior and physical health at school entry. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioThe President on Social Mobility and Opportunity in America

Isabel V. Sawhill, December 13, 2011, The Brookings Institution

The President on Social Mobility and Opportunity in AmericaIsabelle Sawhill examines social mobility in America, discussing barriers that the poor must overcome to achieve middle-class status. Sawhill argues that America's growing inequality is a threat to social mobility and that there is a role for government in helping individuals achieve the American Dream. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioIs U.S. Upward Economic Mobility Impaired?

Scott Winship, November 09, 2011, National Review

Is U.S. Upward Economic Mobility Impaired?

Scott Winship examines why upward economic mobility is limited in the United States, despite cultural and political belief in opportunity and the American Dream. Winship compares the United States to Western European and English-speaking nations and looks at policies to encourage more upward relative mobility.

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RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioIt’s Time to Put Opportunity on the National Agenda

Isabel V. Sawhill, November 03, 2011, The Brookings Institution

It’s Time to Put Opportunity on the National Agenda  Isabel Sawhill discusses the mission of Opportunity Nation, a bipartisan coalition dedicated to reinvigorating the policy debate surrounding opportunity, social mobility and the restoration of the proverbial American Dream, and the issues that make this debate necessary. Read More

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Save to My PortfolioOccupy Wall Street and the Demise of the American Dream

Isabel V. Sawhill, October 20, 2011, Democracy Journal

Occupy Wall Street and the Demise of the American DreamIsabel Sawhill writes that while the Occupy Wall Street movement itself has vague goals, the protesters’ frustration may accurately reflect real issues around income inequality, social mobility and the extent of opportunity in America. Read More

PAST EVENT

Save to My PortfolioCorruption, Impunity and Inequality: Emerging Discontent and Volatility in Africa

Thursday, June 30, 2011
3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Washington, DC

Reuters/Antony NjugunaDespite tremendous advances in poverty reduction, improved health outcomes and access to education, growing inequality threatens developing countries in a manner more severe than poverty or any other traditional development priority. On June 30, the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings hosted Kenya’s former secretary for governance and ethics, John Githongo, to discuss his ongoing work on governance and development in Africa. Read More

In Brief

Economic inequality reflects factors as diverse as education, IQ, lack of opportunity and discrimination. But government policies also make a difference. Today the top 1 percent of Americans own 38 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 40 percent possesses less than 1 percent of U.S. wealth. Globally, economic disparities pose even greater challenges as they can contribute to cycles of poverty, disease, social unrest and political turmoil.

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Robert KaganExpertRobert Kagan

Robert Kagan is an expert and frequent commentator on Egypt, the Middle East, U.S. national security, and U.S.-European relations. He writes a monthly column on world affairs for the Washington Post and is a contributing editor at the Weekly Standard and the New Republic.

Isabel V. SawhillExpertIsabel V. Sawhill

A nationally known budget expert, Isabel Sawhill focuses on domestic poverty and federal fiscal policy. She is also co-director of the Center on Children and Families and the Budgeting for National Priorities Project at Brookings.

Shadi HamidExpertShadi Hamid

Shadi Hamid focuses on Islamist political parties and democratic reform in the Middle East. Prior to joining Brookings, he was Director of Research at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and a Hewlett Fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

Vanda Felbab-BrownExpertVanda Felbab-Brown

Vanda Felbab-Brown focuses on the national security implications of illicit economies and strategies for managing them. She is the author of Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs (Brookings Institution Press, 2009).

John L. Thornton China CenterPolicy CenterJohn L. Thornton China Center

The John L. Thornton China Center develops analysis and policy recommendations to help address key long-term challenges, both in terms of U.S.-China relations and China's internal development.

Growth through InnovationTopicGrowth through Innovation

What new practices and mechanisms will help prevent another economic downturn from turning into a financial panic that could become a truly global meltdown? What changes in the public and private sectors will build the workforce and infrastructure required for a global information-based economy?

Opportunity and Well-beingTopicOpportunity and Well-being

As they weather the current economic storm, will our governments and societies address the basic needs and aspirations of the least well-off? How can we better use education to raise individual aspirations? How should governments around the world accelerate preparations to provide social services for the billions moving from poverty into the middle class?

Center for Technology InnovationPolicy CenterCenter for Technology Innovation

The Center for Technology Innovation is at the forefront of shaping public debate on technology innovation and developing data-driven scholarship to enhance understanding of technology’s legal, economic, social, and governance ramifications.

William G. GaleExpertWilliam G. Gale

Bill Gale, the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy in the Economic Studies Program at Brookings, is an expert on tax policy, fiscal issues, pensions, and saving behavior. He is also co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project.

Daniel KaufmannExpertDaniel Kaufmann

Daniel Kaufmann was previously the director at the World Bank Institute, leading the work on governance and anti-corruption. His areas of expertise are public sector and regulatory reform, development, governance and anti-corruption.

Mwangi S. KimenyiExpertMwangi S. Kimenyi

Mwangi S. Kimenyi is senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative. The founding executive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (1999-2005), he focuses on Africa's development including institutions for economic growth, political economy, and private sector development.

Donald KohnExpertDonald Kohn

Donald Kohn is a 40-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System and served as vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2010. He was recently appointed by the government of the United Kingdom and the Bank of England to serve on its interim Financial Policy Committee. Kohn focuses on issues of monetary policy, financial regulation and macroeconomics.

Brookings Mobile ApplicationsNEW FEATUREBrookings Mobile Applications

Stay up-to-date with our independent, high-quality research, learn about Brookings events and search our directory of experts all from your BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone or Android device.

Budgeting for National PrioritiesResearch ProjectBudgeting for National Priorities

The Budgeting for National Priorities project promotes greater fiscal responsibility by developing new ideas, educating the public and finding common ground among experts and policy-makers.

Katherine SierraExpertKatherine Sierra

Katherine Sierra is a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program. A former vice president for sustainable development at the World Bank, she focuses on climate change and energy.

State of Metropolitan AmericaMetropolitan Policy ProgramState of Metropolitan America

Foreshadowing 2010 Census results, this new Brookings report and interactive map defines who Americans are—and who they are becoming—in the face of continued growth, population aging and diversification, uneven educational attainment and income polarization.

Center on Children and FamiliesPolicy CenterCenter on Children and Families

The Center on Children and Families studies policies on the well-being of America's children and their parents and seeks a more effective means of addressing poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity in the United States.

Darrell M. WestExpertDarrell M. West

Darrell M. West is vice president and director of Governance Studies and founding director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings. His studies include technology policy, electronic government, and mass media.

Suzanne MaloneyExpertSuzanne Maloney

Suzanne Maloney studies Iran, the political economy of the Persian Gulf and Middle East energy policy. A former U.S. State Department policy advisor, she has also counseled private companies on Middle East issues.

Africa Growth InitiativeResearch ProjectAfrica Growth Initiative

The Africa Growth Initiative conducts high-quality policy research and analysis focused on attaining sustainable economic development and prosperity in Africa, while amplifying the voice of African researchers in policy-making and planning.

Alice M. RivlinExpertAlice M. Rivlin

In February 1975, the Congressional Budget Office was established with Alice Rivlin as its first director. Rivlin is an expert on urban issues as well as fiscal, monetary and social policy and directs the Greater Washington Research project at Brookings.

Energy and ClimateTopicEnergy and Climate

What will it take to mitigate severe climate disruption? What should our priorities be in the relationship between fresh water and climate change? What will it take to help vulnerable countries and regions adapt to change already taking place?

Global ChangeTopicGlobal Change

How do we develop more realistic approaches and more effective means of ending intractable old conflicts and preventing new ones? How do we enhance measures to thwart nonstate actors—especially terrorists and illicit traffickers—and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons?