All Research
Op-Ed
Chicago’s “Disappearing Middle Class” Can Be Found in Its Proliferating Upper Middle-Class Neighborhoods
In a recent report with Stephen Rose, I argued that the narrative of a “shrinking middle…
Op-Ed
There Are Many Reasons to Cheer Up About the State of the Middle Class
This piece originally appeared at National Review Online and is reprinted here with permission. Statistics show that…
Op-ed
Compiling My Work on Work Incentives
At the American Enterprise Institute Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility, which I run, we’re…
Commentary
Opportunity Book: A New Tool for Connecting Policymakers with Innovative Ideas
Today the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is…
Report
Re-Centering Family Structure in Opportunity Insights’ Work on Intergenerational Mobility: How Important Is Single Parenthood?
Over the past decade, Opportunity Insights (OI) has transformed the study of intergenerational mobility through innovative uses of administrative data, reshaping the public and scholarly understanding of the factors that affect children’s life prospects. One consistent finding in this literature is the strong association between family structure, especially single parenthood, and upward mobility, though it has received relatively little sustained attention.
Commentary
Young Men’s Earnings over the Long Run – An Update
Let me start with the chart: Median pre-tax earnings of men ages 25-29 rose 24…
Report
The Middle Class Is Shrinking Because of a Booming Upper-Middle Class
Populists on both the political left and right routinely claim that the middle class has been hollowed out. These claims, to the extent they are based on evidence, rely on a relative definition of the middle class, such that if income doubles for every family, the middle class does not grow. Using an absolute definition of the middle class, we find that the “core” middle class has shrunk, but only because more families have become upper-middle class over time.
Article
Has Marriage Fallen Because Young Adults Can’t Afford Homes?
If you’ve been on social media in the past ten years, you’ve surely seen it:…
Blog Post
Apocalypse Not
Now we’re getting somewhere! Thanks to the person who posts on X.com using @MTSInsights, I know where…
Op-Ed
Our Economy Is Not Stagnant
Both sides of the political aisle are misleadingly bleak about the state of the American…
Blog Post
The Real Math of Survival?
Earlier today (much earlier…) I posted a critique of the new viral post by Michael W. Green claiming that…
Op-Ed
How Not to Redefine Poverty
I tried to let it go. Someone mentioned the essay to me on Monday, when…