Expert Q & A
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John E. Morton
Managing Director, Program Planning and Economic Policy
Economic Mobility Project
Increasingly, people worry that the American Dream—children living a better life than their parents—may be slipping away. But is this perception accurate? What does the hard data suggest? Separating myth from reality is the goal of a nonpartisan effort called the Economic Mobility Project, a unique collaboration between Pew and leading economists and social scientists from four well-known think tanks: the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation and the Urban Institute.
With issues like the economy and home ownership at the center of the 2008 presidential race, the Economic Mobility Project is providing some surprising new data on Americans’ potential to climb the socio-economic ladder, particularly in recent years, and how the United States compares to other nations with regards to economic mobility. This summer, the Washington, D.C.-based project begins turning its attention to policy solutions on which leaders of both political parties could agree.
We spoke recently with John Morton, managing director, Program Planning and Economic Policy, about this groundbreaking project.
View John E. Morton on the Economic Mobility Project