Why Is U.S. Economic Mobility Worse in the South?

Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Americans pride themselves on theirintergenerational mobility. Our nation’s exceptionalism isorganized around the American dream: No matter where you comefrom and no matter who your parents are, you can rise to the topof the economic ladder, so long as you are willing to commityourself and work hard.

In recent years, however, a great deal of comparativeresearch has been done on intergenerational mobility, and itraises legitimate questions about the claim that the U.S. standsout as a land of opportunity. In 2006, a widely reported studyfound that in terms of intergenerational mobility, the U.S.lagged behind Nordic nations (including Denmark, Finland, Swedenand Norway) as well as the U.K. For example, Danish men born tohouseholds in that nation’s bottom quintile are far more likelythan their U.S. counterparts to make it to the higher quintiles.