Raj Chetty
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- Goldman Sachs42 min
Harvard’s Raj Chetty on upward mobility in America
Research by Dr. Raj Chetty and the Opportunity Atlas team reveals a sharp decline in intergenerational income mobility, with the likelihood of children out-earning their parents dropping from 92% for the 1940 cohort to roughly 50% for those born in the mid-1980s. The analysis identifies four primary drivers of upward movement, with cross-class social capital acting as the strongest predictor, while highlighting successful local interventions like Charlotte's $160 million investment and Vaughan College's model that combines high access with strong technical outcomes. These findings suggest that targeted strategies integrating financial aid with social support can effectively reverse trends of regional inequality without relying solely on broad federal policy changes.
- Milken Institute30 min
MacArthur Genius Raj Chetty Talks Economic Opportunity Creation | Global Conference 2024
Using anonymized tax data and social network analysis, researchers have identified that high-opportunity neighborhoods and "economic connectedness" between income groups are the primary drivers of upward mobility, contrasting sharply with the national decline where only 50% of children born in the mid-1980s now earn more than their parents. A randomized Seattle trial demonstrated that adding brokerage services to housing vouchers successfully moved over half of low-income families to these high-mobility areas, yielding an estimated $200,000 lifetime earnings increase per child for a mere 2% cost increase. While place-based investments and private sector partnerships in cities like Charlotte show promise, future policy efforts are expanding the voucher model to nine additional cities to systematically address the loss of talent and inequality affecting both social equity and innovation.
- Milken Institute1h 3m
Data-Driven Solutions to Advance the American Dream | Global Conference 2024
Rachel Goslins, Raj Chetty, Jon Clifton, Brian Hooks, Poppy MacDonald, John
Hosted by Rachel Goslins of the Milken Center, this panel featured experts Raj Chetty, Poppy Gentry, Brian Sheth, and John Pollack to analyze the decline in American economic mobility using large-scale data from tax records, government sources, and social networks. The discussion highlighted a sharp drop in intergenerational wealth transfer since the 1940s and exposed how geographic variance, low social capital, and gaps in wealth measurement contribute to the widening prosperity gap. By integrating public perception surveys with "customer-first" philanthropy models, the session concluded that improving mobility requires redefining the American Dream to prioritize freedom and opportunity while leveraging private financial data to guide targeted policy interventions.