--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The latest research on social mobility…" description: "\"The latest research on social mobility showed that there's a large aggregate decline in the U.S. in your chances of earning more than your parents. But..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/raj-chetty-41485_american-dream_the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-s_1220738.jpg" --- # The latest research on social mobility showed that there's… ![“The latest research on social mobility showed that there's a large aggregate decline in the U.S. in your chances of earning more than your parents. But I think where the story becomes more optimistic one is that there are pockets of America, where children from low-income families have significant…” quote by Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/raj-chetty-41485_american-dream_the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-s_1220738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/raj-chetty-41485_american-dream_the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-s_1220738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/raj-chetty-41485_american-dream_the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-s_1220738.jpg) > “The latest research on social mobility showed that there's a large aggregate decline in the U.S. in your chances of earning more than your parents. But I think where the story becomes more optimistic one is that there are pockets of America, where children from low-income families have significant chances of rising up in the income distribution. This finding of big geographic variation is an encouraging one because it shows that there are places where we see the American Dream thriving and we simply need to understand how can we replicate those successes elsewhere throughout the country.” [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some U.S. regions still enable low‑income children to surpass their parents’ earnings, showing the American Dream can thrive locally. **In simple terms:** Geography matters for economic mobility. Key Takeaway Study successful regions to replicate their policies. Themes economics social mobility inequality policy geography Mood analytical hopeful Type research policy‑oriented When to use this quote - urban planning - education reform - tax incentives - community programs Key Concepts intergenerational earnings regional disparity opportunity structures Questions to Reflect On - What policies drive mobility in those pockets? - Can other areas adopt them? A Different Perspective Success pockets may be due to unique, non‑scalable factors; broader replication is uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-dream/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Earning Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning-parents-3736613/) [Elsewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elsewhere/) [Income distribution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-distribution/) [Income Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-families-349883/) [Optimistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimistic/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Rising Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising-income-3736614/) [Significant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significant/) [Social mobility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-mobility/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Cities that tend of have better schools for middle-income families, they tend to have much better prospects for kids moving up in the income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/cities-that-tend-of-have-better-schools-for-middle-income-families/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [Middle income families with children are Australia’s new poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/middle-income-families-with-children-are-australia-s-new-poor/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [Raising the federal minimum wage won't just put more money in the pocket of low-income families - it also means they spend more money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/raising-the-federal-minimum-wage-won-t-just-put-more-money-in-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Income is now more concentrated in the hands of the rich. Those well-off households tend to save and invest higher proportions of their earnings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/income-is-now-more-concentrated-in-the-hands-of-the-rich-those-well/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [The middle income families in America have been crushed over the last four years,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/the-middle-income-families-in-america-have-been-crushed-over-the-last/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [While the wealthiest families completely benefit from the tax cuts targeted towards the upper brackets, middle-income families were hit with the unwelcome surprise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-bishop/while-the-wealthiest-families-completely-benefit-from-the-tax-cuts/) [Tim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-bishop/) > [Eggs are a staple food upon which families rely, and the budgetary impact of any price increase is immediate, particularly for low-income families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/eggs-are-a-staple-food-upon-which-families-rely-and-the-budgetary/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [The Food Stamp Challenge, which challenges higher-income families to live as if they are on food stamps, estimates that a person on food stamps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-flock/the-food-stamp-challenge-which-challenges-higher-income-families-to/) [Elizabeth Flock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-flock/) > [Moderately priced homes might draw working families in a metro area. And having rising incomes at the top might price lower-income families out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/moderately-priced-homes-might-draw-working-families-in-a-metro-area/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [There is a deep connection, when we're talking about certain market forces and a legal structure that inhibits low or moderate income families from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/there-is-a-deep-connection-when-we-re-talking-about-certain-market/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Taxes and fees in Chicago and Cook County are forcing low-income families like the one I grew up in out of this city. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/taxes-and-fees-in-chicago-and-cook-county-are-forcing-low-income/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [Poverty is not just a sad accident, but it's also a result of the fact that some people make a lot of money off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/poverty-is-not-just-a-sad-accident-but-it-s-also-a-result-of-the-fact/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“low-skilled workers and low-income families because public supports are particularly important for these persons’ well-being and because their experiences of the welfare state are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rathgeb-smith/low-skilled-workers-and-low-income-families-because-public-supports/) [Steven Rathgeb Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rathgeb-smith/) > [Lower-income immigrant families might receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes. But that mathematical equilibrium is temporary, and an artifact of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/lower-income-immigrant-families-might-receive-more-in-benefits-than/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [More and more lower-middle-income families either live their lives in debt or leave the city altogether. The boom is strictly at the penthouse level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/more-and-more-lower-middle-income-families-either-live-their-lives-in/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) ## More by Raj Chetty > [It is well known that unemployment benefits raise unemployment durations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/it-is-well-known-that-unemployment-benefits-raise-unemployment/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [Cities that tend of have better schools for middle-income families, they tend to have much better prospects for kids moving up in the income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/cities-that-tend-of-have-better-schools-for-middle-income-families/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [The solution for rising up kids in the income distributionlies is in creating better childhood environments for kids growing up, especially in low income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/the-solution-for-rising-up-kids-in-the-income-distributionlies-is-in/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [We don’t really care about test scores. We care about adult outcomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/we-don-t-really-care-about-test-scores-we-care-about-adult-outcomes/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [Atlanta's a good example of a city that's quite sprawling, where there's a sharp division between where blacks and whites live, between where low-income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/atlanta-s-a-good-example-of-a-city-that-s-quite-sprawling-where-there/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [The data show we can do something about upward mobility. Every extra year of childhood spent in a better neighborhood seems to matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/the-data-show-we-can-do-something-about-upward-mobility-every-extra/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [I would say basically the commonplace observation that kids aren't going to earn as much as their parents is now is a coin flip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/i-would-say-basically-the-commonplace-observation-that-kids-aren-t/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [There's an evidence from a number of studies which show that where you grow up and the age at which you move to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/there-s-an-evidence-from-a-number-of-studies-which-show-that-where/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [Every extra year you spend in a better environment makes you more likely to go to college, less likely to have a teenage pregnancy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/every-extra-year-you-spend-in-a-better-environment-makes-you-more/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) [Explore all 10 Raj Chetty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) ## More American dream quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [Are we a nation of guarantees or are we a nation of opportunities to achieve the American dream?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mcdonnell/are-we-a-nation-of-guarantees-or-are-we-a-nation-of-opportunities-to/) [Bob McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mcdonnell/) > [I believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare while preserving the American dream for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-coburn/i-believe-keeping-our-promises-should-be-our-highest-priority-and/) [Tom Coburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-coburn/) > [Our families and our homes are the center of American life, Everything we do is to make those homes-and the lives in them-more beautiful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/our-families-and-our-homes-are-the-center-of-american-life-everything/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [I want people to know where I come from. I think I have come really far from that, and I did it on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aj-lee/i-want-people-to-know-where-i-come-from-i-think-i-have-come-really/) [AJ Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aj-lee/) > [We need to remain a nation that doesn't just welcome but that celebrates legal immigrants who come here seeking to pursue the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/we-need-to-remain-a-nation-that-doesn-t-just-welcome-but-that/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [So many Korean Americans like me came to this country with the hope of achieving their own American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/so-many-korean-americans-like-me-came-to-this-country-with-the-hope/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) > [“Let's make no mistake about this: The American Dream starts with the neighborhoods. If we wish to rebuild our cities, we must first rebuild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/let-s-make-no-mistake-about-this-the-american-dream-starts-with-the/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [As a kid, I learned from my parents, teachers, coaches, and friends that what mattered most was Truth - to uncover it, share it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiva-ayyadurai/as-a-kid-i-learned-from-my-parents-teachers-coaches-and-friends-that/) [Shiva Ayyadurai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiva-ayyadurai/) > [Theres a zoom up in the TV screen Living cancer to our self-esteem yea Cause if this an airless beauty queen But everything aint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentinooo-c/theres-a-zoom-up-in-the-tv-screen-living-cancer-to-our-self-esteem/) [Valentinooo\_c](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valentinooo-c/) > [College is part of the American dream. It shouldnt be part of a financial nightmare for families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mikulski/college-is-part-of-the-american-dream-it-shouldnt-be-part-of-a/) [Barbara Mikulski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mikulski/) > [“New Rule: Americans must realize what makes NFL football so great: socialism. That's right, the NFL takes money from the rich teams and gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-americans-must-realize-what-makes-nfl-football-so-great/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I believe it from the bottom of my heart, and your sons and daughters, too, can have the American dream come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-a-ribicoff/i-believe-it-from-the-bottom-of-my-heart-and-your-sons-and-daughters/) [Abraham A. Ribicoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-a-ribicoff/) > [I dare to imagine a country where every child I hold in my hands, are all God's children, regardless of the color of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wellstone/i-dare-to-imagine-a-country-where-every-child-i-hold-in-my-hands-are/) [Paul Wellstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wellstone/) [Browse all 1,001 American dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The latest research on social mobility showed that there's a large aggregate decline in the U.S. in your chances of earning more than your parents. But I think where the story becomes more optimistic one is that there are pockets of America, where children from low-income families have significant chances of rising up in the income distribution. This finding of big geographic variation is an encouraging one because it shows that there are places where we see the American Dream thriving and we simply need to understand how can we replicate those successes elsewhere throughout the country.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Raj Chetty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-showed-that-there-s-a-large/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-showed-that-there-s-a-large/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/raj-chetty-41485_american-dream_the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-s_1220738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/raj-chetty-41485_american-dream_the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-s_1220738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/raj-chetty-41485_american-dream_the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-s_1220738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The latest research on social mobility showed that there's a large aggregate decline in the U.S. in your…” — Raj Chetty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Raj Chetty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The latest research on social mobility...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-showed-that-there-s-a-large/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-showed-that-there-s-a-large/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```