Chetty offers ideas to boost Charlotte's economic mobility
Chetty's 2014 study ranked Charlotte last in economic mobility; recent update shows improvement to 38th
The following article appeared in the September 23, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Chetty shares how to keep economic mobility rising: Focusing on childhood development, increasing connections
Speaking to a room filled with dozens of Charlotte leaders, economist Raj Chetty said Friday that the city should continue its efforts to improve economic mobility by investing in childhood development and encouraging connections between different groups of people.
“Kids have the best chances of rising up if they’re growing up in communities where low-income folks are more connected to high-income folks,” he said. “That’s true both nationally, and it’s true locally here in Charlotte.”
Chetty, a Harvard economist, is well-known in Charlotte because his 2014 study of economic mobility ranked Charlotte last — 50th out of 50 cities — in the share of children from low-income families who grew up to become high-income earners. The low ranking mobilized local business and philanthropic leaders to study the issue and commit resources to it.
A study Chetty released this year using newer data showed Charlotte moving up to 38th out of 50. It was based on children born in 1992, which means that any improvements can be mostly attributed to changes in the 1990s and 2000s.
Chetty said that the data seems to show that cities fell or rose in the rankings because of changes in parental employment: Communities creating jobs tended to offer more economic mobility, while those losing jobs tended to have less economic opportunity.
He spoke Friday to a couple of hundred leaders in business, nonprofits, government and foundations at the Mint Museum uptown. The event was sponsored by Leading on Opportunity, an arm of Foundation for the Carolinas that focuses on economic mobility, and was sponsored by Bank of America and Novant Health.
Toward the end of his remarks, Chetty said he has written an upcoming column for the New York Times about how to create a society that encourages economic opportunity, and that the final paragraph of the column praises Charlotte’s efforts. The room applauded. —Tony Mecia
Related Ledger articles:
“Taking the temperate on upward mobility” (June 9, 2023, 🎧 also a podcast)
“Is Charlotte really 50th out of 50 in economic mobility?” (🔒, March 2, 2022)
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman