Press Releases
- Press Release: Pew Study Finds Children of Divorced Parents More Likely to Remain at Bottom of Income Ladder as Adults Press Release: Pew Study Finds Children of Divorced Parents More Likely to Remain at Bottom of Income Ladder as Adults 05/18/2010
- Pew Finds Economic Mobility Rates Differ for Canadians and Americans: Citizens of Both Nations Share Similar Perceptions and Values About Economic Opportunity Canadians and Americans do not have the same likelihood of climbing the income ladder and experiencing economic mobility, but not because of different underlying values or societal goals, according to new data released today by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. The report, Chasing the Same Dream, Climbing Different Ladders: Economic Mobility in the United States and Canada, examines the differences in mobility over a generation and analyzes the results in conjunction with public opinion polls commissioned in both nations by the Project. It looks at differences in public attitudes and cultural values to understand to what degree they can explain the disparity in economic mobility. 01/20/2010
- Pew Analysis Finds That Nearly 3/4 of Children of Low-Income Parents With High Savings Move Up From the Bottom Children born to low-income parents with savings above the median level are more likely to move up the income ladder as adults (71 percent do) than those whose parents are low-income and low-saving (only 50 percent move up from the bottom rung), according to a new report released today by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. 11/19/2009
- Strengthening Community Colleges' Influence on Economic Mobility A report released today by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project shows that community colleges are an important stepping stone for students of all backgrounds, income levels and high school achievements to improve their economic mobility prospects. 10/20/2009
- Poor Neighborhoods Strongly Increase the Risk of Falling Down the Income Ladder for Children of Middle-Income Black Families The neighborhood poverty experienced by middle-income black children contributes greatly to their increased risk of downward mobility, according to a new report released today by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. 07/26/2009
- Downward Mobility and Recovery Rates Remain Virtually Unchanged Since the Late 1960s According to a new 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. 06/18/2009
- Misperceptions of Cost, Complexity of Aid System, Keep Low-Income Students Out of College Many low-income students miss out on college because they don’t know how much it actually costs or how to get access to billions of dollars in financial aid, according to a report released today by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. 05/13/2009
- Pew-Commissioned Poll Finds Americans Optimistic About Prospects For Economic Mobility Despite The Recession 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. This is true across racial lines and even among lower-income, less-educated and unemployed people, according to a new national public opinion poll conducted for Pew’s Economic Mobility Project by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies. 03/12/2009
- More than 7 in 10 Americans who start at the bottom of the income ladder remain below middle income status 10 years later Despite notable changes in the U.S. economy over the past two decades, such as the ongoing shift from manufacturing to service sector jobs, women’s increasing participation in the workforce and rising immigrant populations, the ability of Americans to move up in the income distribution has changed little since the 1980s according to a new report released today by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Further, more than 50 percent of individuals ages 25 to 44 who start in the bottom of the income distribution remain there 10 years later. 11/11/2008
- Pathways to Economic Mobility: Key Indicators Educational attainment, family structure and savings are the strongest determinants of whether Americans move up, or down, the economic ladder, according to a new report authored by Stuart Butler, William Beach and Paul Winfree of The Heritage Foundation and released today by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. 09/18/2008
- New Study on Economic Opportunities Finds that Americans Experience Upward Economic Mobility, But for Many the Magnitude of Their Movements is Minimal Nearly three-quarters of individuals born into the bottom half of the income distribution improved their economic standing relative to their parents by at least one percentile, yet less than half moved up more than 20 percentiles, and fewer than two in five moved into the top half of the distribution, according to a new report issued by The Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The report is authored by economist and Economic Mobility Project advisory board member Bhashkar Mazumder. 05/29/2008
- The Economic Mobility Project Releases Comprehensive Examination of the Status of the American Dream, Including Data and Analysis on Education, Wealth, International Comparisons and Trends over Time A major new look at the trends and issues impacting economic opportunity for Americans was released today by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. “Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America,” is authored by three Brookings Institution scholars, Julia B. Isaacs, Isabel V. Sawhill and Ron Haskins and includes new chapters on education, wealth, international comparisons and trends over time. These, combined with previously released chapters on gender, race, immigration and families, comprise the entire volume. 02/19/2008
- Many Poor and Lower-Income Households Excluded from the Federal Government's $700 Billion Spending on Economic Mobility This first effort to define a “mobility budget” finds that poor and lower-income households are often excluded from the federal government’s spending on economic mobility. Spending that reaches lower-income households accounts for less than one-third of all mobility spending. While these households do benefit from many other federal programs, those programs generally are not aimed at promoting mobility, and sometimes even discourage it. 02/12/2008
- Two-thirds of American Families Earn More than Their Parents — Yet the Ability to Climb the Economic Ladder Depends on Parents' Income Two-thirds of American families are earning more today than their parents did a generation ago, yet their likelihood of moving up—or down—the economic ladder still depends in large measure on their parents’ position, according to a new report issued by The Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Comprised of a Principals’ Group of experts from The American Enterprise Institute, The Brookings Institution, The Heritage Foundation and The Urban Institute, the project seeks to investigate the status of economic mobility in America. 11/13/2007
- Immigrants Still Climbing America's Economic Ladder, But Trends Suggest Progress is Slowing America continues to be the land of opportunity for immigrant families, but the degree of upward economic mobility for newer arrivals has slowed from that experienced by earlier waves of immigrants, according to a report released today by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. “The American economic assimilation machine remains strong for immigrants and they continue to seize our nation’s historic promise of opportunity, working to make a better life for themselves and their children,” said John E. Morton, managing director of economic policy at Pew. “But trends are heading downward and there are substantial changes in wages that raise real questions about the degree of continued upward movement for future generations.” 07/24/2007
- New Analysis Sees Men Failing To Reach Income Levels Of Previous Generation American men have less income than their fathers’ generation did at the same age, according to a new analysis released today by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Comprised of a Principals’ Group of experts from The American Enterprise Institute, The Brookings Institution, The Heritage Foundation, and The Urban Institute, the project seeks to investigate the health and status of economic mobility in America. 05/24/2007
- The Pew Charitable Trusts Announces New Project to Assess State of Economic Mobility in America A new project launched today in Washington is working to spark consensus across the political spectrum that America’s long-term interest lies in understanding "economic mobility" -- the ability to move up the economic ladder in a lifetime and over generations – and ensuring it remains a cornerstone of the American Dream. 02/27/2007
