Harvard economist Raj Chetty, whose research 10 years ago ranked the Charlotte area 50th out of 50 on economic mobility, says social capital plays a significant role in determining people’s economic outcomes.
In a presentation Tuesday night at UNC Charlotte’s uptown building, Chetty said his latest research shows that social capital — the type of connections that may help people get a job — also shapes career paths and is the strongest predictor of people moving up the economic ladder. That can be influenced by a whole set of local factors, which he said can make coming up with a solution either “a virtuous circle or a vicious cycle.”
“What that calls for is a coordinated approach,” Chetty said. “This is what I see to some extent here in Charlotte, where if you define increasing economic opportunity as the goal, you can bring to the table folks whose fundamental focus is on transportation, or schools or on higher education, and figure out how you connect all these things to actually make it work.”
Chetty plans to release a new study early next year that provides a 10-year update of the statistics he released on economic mobility in 2014. He told the crowd, many of whom are involved in work to increase economic mobility, that he thinks they’ll be encouraged by what they see.
You can listen to Chetty’s full presentation and discussion here.
