Families and Economic Mobility

Surveys the literature on the effect of family structure, socioeconomic status, childrearing practices, and transmission of parental traits on academic success and mobility. Points out the difficulty of sorting familial influences from genetic factors

Discrimination and Economic Mobility

Reviews current research on primarily racial discrimination to assess the extent to which it persists and contributes to relative immobility for minorities, especially African Americans. Discusses methods of measuring discrimination and their limitations

The Implications of Career Lengths for Social Security

While growing fiscal pressures and increasing life expectancy have prompted calls to raiseretirement ages so that lifetime benefits would be concentrated in older ages, some fear that this change -- without other adjustments -- might harm long-career, lower-wage workers. Tying retirement benefit eligibility to years of service might protect lower-wage workers if they tend to start their careers relatively early and work more years prior to retirement than higher-wage workers. But higher disability rates and greater employment volatility could offset lower-wage workers' early labor force starts, and lead to fewer total years of service completed. Using survey data matched to administrative earnings records, we describe variation in work histories for current and near retirees by gender, education, and other important characteristics. We find that years of service are not likely to provide an effective way to protect the lowest-wage workers. Among other reasons, men and women with the least education also work the least

How Would the President's Fiscal Commission's Social Security Proposals Affect Future Beneficiaries?

Estimates how proposed changes to Social Security, including raising the cap on earnings subject to the payroll tax, would affect benefits over time and by income and lifetime payroll tax contributions

Are There Opportunities to Increase Social Security Progressivity Despite Underfunding?

Reviews the payroll tax, Social Security's benefit formula, and outcomes by race, gender, and earnings level, and explores why low-income and minority groups do not receive greater returns on contributions. Simulates the effects of progressive reforms

Boomers' Retirement Income Prospects

Examines how changing demographics and patterns in lifetime earnings, pension participation, and wealth accumulation among Americans born between 1946 and 1964 will shape baby boomers' economic well-being at age 70

Safety Net or Tangled Web? An Overview of Programs and Services for Adults with Disabilities

Assessing the New Federalism is a multiyear Urban Institute project designed to analyze the devolution of responsibility for social programs from the federal government to the states, focusing primarily on health care, income security, employment and training programs, and social services. The project aims to provide timely, nonpartisan information to inform public debate and to help state and local decisionmakers carry out their new responsibilities more effectively. This report describes 15 major public programs serving low-income, non-elderly adults with disabilities. The authors conclude that the safety net for low-income adults with disabilities is more like a tangled web of conflicting goals and gaps in needed services. Opportunities for temporary cash, training, and rehabilitation support are especially limited for disabled adults with limited work histories and/or who experienced their disability outside of work. SSI, a permanent cash benefit program that could likely lead to a lifetime of program participation, is the primary option for these adults. The authors discuss promising policy options that take a more coordinated approach in serving the complex needs of adults with disabilities