Family Structure and the Economic Mobility of Children

The study investigates the relationship between parental marital status and intergenerational economic mobility. Using data provided by parents and their children since the late 1960s, the study examines how children’s economic mobility may differ based on the parents’ family structure during childhood.

The findings suggests that divorce is a significant barrier to a child’s economic mobility. Twenty-six percent of children of divorced parents who start in the bottom third of the income ladder move to the middle or top third as adults, compared to 42 percent of children born to unmarried mothers and 50 percent of children with married parents in the same income bracket.

When analyzed according to race, the study finds that 85 percent of African American children and 63 percent of white children born into the bottom third of the income ladder remain in the bottom third as adults if their parents divorce. However, family structure does not fully account for this gap. According to the study, the difference in the rates of upward mobility between African American and white children among families with married parents indicates racial disparity.

The report was produced by the Economic Mobility Project, an initiative by The Pew Economic Policy Group and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Read the report.