The folks at Brookings have a consistently-interesting research agenda addressing questions that seem pretty central to economic growth and social welfare. Students have really enjoyed (and been disturbed by) Alesina, Glaeser, and Sacerdote’s Why Doesn’t the US Have a European-Style Welfare State published in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. Gary Burtless’ work on the sources of American inequality is quite revealing.
And, most recently, Isabel Sawhill and Ron Haskins have identified Five Myths about Our Land of Opportunity. I particularly liked the discussion of Myth #4.
4. If we want to increase opportunities for children, we should give their families more income.
Of course money is a factor in upward mobility, but it isn’t the only one; it may not even be the most important. Our research shows that if you want to avoid poverty and join the middle class in the United States, you need to complete high school (at a minimum), work full time and marry before you have children. If you do all three, your chances of being poor fall from 12 percent to 2 percent, and your chances of joining the middle class or above rise from 56 to 74 percent. (We define middle class as having an income of at least $50,000 a year for a family of three.)