Journal Articles

The Measure of a Nation

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We need more—and better—data on social mobility in the United States. Normative questions must be answered first. We have to know why we care about a particular pattern of mobility to know how to set about measuring it. The distinction between relative and absolute mobility is a case in point. Do we care most about whether people are better off than their parents, or about how much movement there is up and down the income ladder? Technical difficulties abound for the measurement of mobility. It is important not to lose sight of the motivation for the exercise: measuring how far the inequality patterns of one generation are impressed upon the next, understanding these replication processes empirically, and weakening them. America has a historic commitment to the ideal of equality of opportunity. Data on mobility, then, comprise the measure of the nation.

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Detail Information

Series Title

THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE

Call Number

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Publisher

Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications., 2015

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

978-1-4833-9181-6

Classification

NONE

Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 657, Januari 2015, pages 22-26

Subject(s)

Human capital
Social mobility
Opportunity
Economic mobility

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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