Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking up from the American Dream

Autor/in	Acs, Gregory
Institution	Pew Charitable Trusts, Economic Mobility Project
Titel	Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking up from the American Dream
Quelle	(2011), (36 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Social Mobility; Social Class; Middle Class; Individual Characteristics; Marital Status; Educational Attainment; Scores; Tests; Drug Abuse; Adults; Racial Differences; Gender Differences; Income; Parents; Family Income; Whites; African Americans; Hispanic Americans + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Soziale Mobilität; Social classes; Soziale Klasse; Mittelschicht; Personality characteristic; Personality traits; Persönlichkeitsmerkmal; Familienstand; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Examination; Prüfung; Examen; Rassenunterschied; Geschlechterkonflikt; Einkommen; Eltern; Familieneinkommen; White; Weißer; Afroamerikaner; Hispanic; Hispanoamerikaner
Abstract	Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this report finds that a middle-class upbringing does not guarantee the same status over the course of a lifetime. One third of Americans raised in the middle class, defined here as those between the 30th and 70th percentiles of the income distribution, fall out of the middle as adults. The data also show differences in rates of downward mobility from the middle based on both family background and personal characteristics. The research for this report was undertaken to answer critical questions about what accounts for downward mobility from the middle class and how those factors influence people differently depending on race and gender. Four main findings were identified: (1) Marital status, education, test scores and drug use have a strong influence on whether a middle-class child loses economic ground as an adult; (2) Race is a factor in who falls out of the middle class, but only for men; (3) Differences in average test scores are the most important observable racial difference in accounting for the large downward mobility gap between black men and white men, but none of the factors examined in the report sheds light on the gap between white men and white women; and (4) There is a gender gap in downward mobility from the middle, but it is driven entirely by a disparity between white men and white women. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Economic Mobility Project. Available from: Pew Charitable Trusts. 901 E Street NW 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20004. Tel: 202-540-2000; Fax: 202-552-2299; e-mail: pcs-feedback@pewtrusts.org; Web site: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/archived-projects/economic-
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01