Image courtesy of The Opportunity Atlas via NPR
CAMBRIDGE, MA (October 2, 2018) - A new interactive map designed by Harvard University economists and based on Census data exhibits the economic mobility patterns and challenges of neighborhoods across the United States.
The accompanying report determined that family stability, social networks, early childhood development, and college and career readiness were essential elements spurring upward mobility. Segregation was identified as a major obstacle.
“You see that for kids turning 30 today, who were born in the mid-1980s, only 50 percent of them go on to earn more than their parents did,” Harvard economist Raj Chetty says. “It’s a coin flip as to whether you are now going to achieve the American dream.”
