Sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox of the University of Virginia has an excellent piece in The Atlantic, which analyzes data from the Equality of Opportunity Project on what factors contribute to economic mobility. Wilcox finds three main factors: (1) Per-capita income growth, (2) Prevalence of single mothers (negative), (3) Per-capita local government spending (likely a proxy for education spending or public transportation).
Wilcox concludes,
As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty this week, it’s worth considering that our attention to income inequality, although well-meaning, is distracting us from the most important pieces in the poverty puzzle. Growth, marriages, and local governments are three issues deserving more attention in our efforts to renew the American Dream for the nation’s poorest citizens.