13 - Shirtsleeves to Shirtsleeves: The Economics of Social Mobility (1996)

Summary

It is an honor to be here today to give this lecture, for several reasons. First, the speakers who have preceded me in this lecture series form a very distinguished group, and it is an honor to join them. Second, Northwestern University is where I began my career. It was a wonderful environment for me and I have many fond memories, so it is nice to be back. And finally, Nancy Schwartz, in addition to being an outstanding scholar, was a kind and generous friend to me when I first arrived at Northwestern, and I am glad to have this opportunity to pay tribute to her.

INTRODUCTION

My topic today is intergenerational mobility, and I want to begin with a brief discussion of why I think it is an important issue. I will discuss three reasons: one that is moral or philosophical and two that are pragmatic and policy oriented.

First the philosophical question. We are all brought up with the notion that the United States is a land of equal opportunity. Now the fact that we talk about equal opportunity rather than equal outcomes means that we are willing to accept at least some inequality. In fact, as a society we are evidently willing to accept a substantial degree of economic inequality. In part this is because we believe economic incentives are needed to induce people to expend effort.