Traditional measures of intergenerational mobility such as the intergenerational elasticity are not useful for inferences concerning group differences in mobility with respect to the pooled income distribution. This paper uses transition probabilities and measures of “directional rank...

How significant was the economic progress of African Americans in the United States between 1970 and 2000? In this paper the authors examine this issue for black men 25 to 55 years of age who live in 14 large U.S. metropolitan areas. They present the evidence that significant racial disparities...

According to a study featured in the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's 2005 Annual Report, differences in state income levels can be explained largely by two factors: innovation and workforce skills. The study's findings suggest that increasing a region's knowledge base should be a primary...

Upstate New York's weak population and labor force growth in recent years has raised concerns about a loss of educated workers. Indeed, the region has seen a net outflow of college-educated people. This issue of Upstate New York At-a-Glance finds that this net outflow reflects a low rate of...

Conservatively speaking, a college graduate generates $142,000 in state fiscal benefits over time while costing a state only $60,500. But trends in higher education allocations (4.1 percent of total state spending nationwide in 1984; 1.8 percent in 2004) suggest states have become shortsighted.

Using data from the U.S. Census and the National Longitudinal Surveys, the authors find little evidence of differences in the economic value of education across racial and ethnic groups, even with attempts to control for ability and measurement error biases. As a result, they argue, policies...

Affordable higher education is, and has been, a key element of social policy in the United States with broad bipartisan support. Financial aid has substantially increased the number of people who complete university—generally thought to be a good thing. We show, however, that making education...

Tuition and student debt have skyrocketed, but higher education still pays off.

Remarks at the Hispanic Economic Experience Conference, Dallas, Texas, June 16, 2011 ; "In Texas, as anywhere else in the United States and in all capitalist societies, "you earn what you learn." Every study known to man, and plain common sense, tells you that income is directly correlated to...