Today the Economic Mobility Project released three new reports of a series on economic mobility and the status of the American Dream. The three reports examine the economic mobility of American families across generations, of men and women, and of black and white families.
"Doing better" than one's parents has long been a key element of the American Dream. But are Americans today better off than their own parents were a generation ago? How much does one's eventual success depend on family background? Is the American Dream a reality for black and white families alike? Does the transmission of economic advantage from parents to children differ for sons and daughters? The reports, written by Julia B. Isaacs, Child and Family Policy Fellow at The Brookings Institution, present the following main findings:
Two-thirds of American families have more family income than their own parents' had a generation ago. Of the two thirds of Americans who make more than their parents' family income, one half (or 34 percent of all Americans) are upwardly mobile, meaning they also move up at least one rung on the income ladder ahead of their parents. One's economic position on the income ladder in adulthood is largely dependent on his or her parents' position on the ladder.
The reports call into question whether the American Dream is a reality for black and white families alike. In every income group, blacks are less likely than whites to surpass their parents' family income and more likely to fall down the economic ladder. These trends are particularly startling for children born to middle income black parents - the analysis suggests that black parents who achieve middle income status are not able to pass their economic advantages onto their children in the same way as white parents. Only 31 percent of black children born to middle income parents make more than their parents' family income, compared to 58 percent of white children. Almost half (45 percent) of black children whose parents were solidly middle income end up falling to the bottom of the income distribution, compared to only 16 percent of white children.
Sons and daughters have fairly similar rates of mobility across generations---that is, family incomes of both sons and daughters resemble their parents' to a similar degree. One exception is lower mobility rates for daughters of low-income parents as compared to sons of low income parents - 47 percent of daughters born to parents on the bottom rung stay on the bottom rung, compared to 35 percent of sons. Visit http://www.economicmobility.org for links to The Economic Mobility of Families Across Generations, The Economic Mobility of Men and Women, and The Economic Mobility of Black and White Families.