This article was originally published in the Southern California News Group.
In conversations about income mobility—a staple of the 2024 election—there is no consensus about the main barriers to mobility. There is a persistent confusion among academics and policymakers about intertwining income mobility, poverty, and income inequality.
There is a correlation between income mobility and inequality, but it may well be that there are barriers and variables affecting both at the same time. There has been no causation demonstrated in the economic literature one way or the other.
However, if there is a consensus (albeit misguided), in our current academic and policy conversations, it is that the main way we should combat inequality and improve mobility are either through taxing the rich or increasing transfers to the poor and tweaking the welfare system.
