With talk of a “bull market” entering mainstream discourse, Americans should tread carefully. The U.S. economy may be showing signs of improvement, but it is still weaker post-pandemic than before it.
U.S. policymakers should focus on flourishing, not simply inequality, poverty, and disadvantage. This would entail a focus on physical and mental health, positive social relationships, freedom, meaning, agency, and an ability to live with respect and dignity to pursue goals and aspirations. Social mobility—the chance to better oneself and one’s children—is an important aspect of flourishing.
But most discussions of inequality and social mobility focus narrowly on welfare policies such as child tax credits, the earned income tax credits, or on redistributive measures such as taxation and housing vouchers. Three crucial topics are underrepresented in the recent discussions: families, opportunities, and the truth about these matters.
Continue reading at Newsweek.
James Heckman, PhD, is a senior fellow at the Archbridge Institute and a Nobel laureate in economics (2000). He has appointments in the Department of Economics, Harris School of Public Policy, and the Law School at The University of Chicago. He is also the founder and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development.
Economics of Flourishing
With talk of a “bull market” entering mainstream discourse, Americans should tread carefully. The U.S. economy may be showing signs of improvement, but it is still weaker post-pandemic than before it.
U.S. policymakers should focus on flourishing, not simply inequality, poverty, and disadvantage. This would entail a focus on physical and mental health, positive social relationships, freedom, meaning, agency, and an ability to live with respect and dignity to pursue goals and aspirations. Social mobility—the chance to better oneself and one’s children—is an important aspect of flourishing.
But most discussions of inequality and social mobility focus narrowly on welfare policies such as child tax credits, the earned income tax credits, or on redistributive measures such as taxation and housing vouchers. Three crucial topics are underrepresented in the recent discussions: families, opportunities, and the truth about these matters.
Continue reading at Newsweek.
James Heckman
James Heckman, PhD, is a senior fellow at the Archbridge Institute and a Nobel laureate in economics (2000). He has appointments in the Department of Economics, Harris School of Public Policy, and the Law School at The University of Chicago. He is also the founder and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development.
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