Harvard/UC Berkeley Equality of Opportunity Project

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Topics Economic Mobility
Source Harvard University and University of California at Berkeley
Years Available 2013
Geographies Commuting zones
Public Edition or Subscriber-only Public Edition
Download Available yes
For more information http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/

Description:

These data come from research put out by Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley as part of The Equality of Opportunity Project. Through this project, the researchers set out to examine geographical differences in economic mobility rates throughout the country and to look at the impact of tax expenditures on intergenerational mobility. As part of this study, the researchers released data on the probability that a child growing up with parents with an annual household income in a certain income quintile will have an annual household in a certain quintile as an adult. On PolicyMap, we used this data to display the percent chance that children from low- and middle-income families will achieve certain income ranges as adults.

These data are mapped to Commuting Zones (CZs), which PolicyMap created using geographic crosswalks provided by the source. Based on Census data, CZs are geographical aggregations of counties based on commuting patterns that are similar to metro areas but also cover rural areas. Children are assigned to the CZ based on their location at age 16 (no matter where they live today), and the location is thus interpreted as where the child grew up.

For a full report on the researchers’ findings, see http://obs.rc.fas.harvard.edu/chetty/tax_expenditure_soi_whitepaper.pdf. For more information about the Equality of Opportunity Project or the Commuting Zone geography, visit http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org.

Available Data Layers & Indicators (13)
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $25,200 and $47,300 annually will earn more than $29,900 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $25,200 and $47,300 annually will earn more than $57,800 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $25,200 and $47,300 annually will earn more than $9,400 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $25,200 and $47,300 annually will earn more than $99,600 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $47,300 and $73,000 annually will earn more than $29,900 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $47,300 and $73,000 annually will earn more than $57,800 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $47,300 and $73,000 annually will earn more than $9,400 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned between $47,300 and $73,000 annually will earn more than $99,600 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned less than $25,200 annually will earn less than $9,400 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned less than $25,200 annually will earn more than $29,900 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned less than $25,200 annually will earn more than $57,800 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned less than $25,200 annually will earn more than $9,400 annually as an adult.
Percent chance that a child whose parents earned less than $25,200 annually will earn more than $99,600 annually as an adult.