Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Perspective
  • Published:

How economic inequality shapes mobility expectations and behaviour in disadvantaged youth

Nature Human Behaviour volume 3, pages 214–220 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Economic inequality can have a range of negative consequences for those in younger generations, particularly for those from lower-socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Economists and psychologists, among other social scientists, have addressed this issue, but have proceeded largely in parallel. This Perspective outlines how these disciplines have proposed and provided empirical support for complementary theoretical models. Specifically, both disciplines emphasize that inequality weakens people’s belief in socioeconomic opportunity, thereby reducing the likelihood that low-SES young people will engage in behaviours that would improve their chances of upward mobility (for example, persisting in school or averting teenage pregnancy). In integrating the methods and techniques of economics and psychology, we offer a cohesive framework for considering this issue. When viewed as a whole, the interdisciplinary body of evidence presents a more complete and compelling framework than does either discipline alone. We use this unification to offer policy recommendations that would advance prospects for mobility among low-SES young people.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Unified theoretical framework.
Fig. 2: Inequality, maternal education, and high school dropout rates for boys.
Fig. 3: Motivation to persist academically by mobility beliefs and SES.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. OECD. Income inequality. OECD Data https://web.archive.org/web/20181004070436/https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm (2018).

  2. Saez, E. Striking it richer: the evolution of top incomes in the United States. University of California, Berkeley https://web.archive.org/web/20181004070320/https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2015.pdf (2016).

  3. Stone, C., Trisi, D., Sherman, A. & Taylor, R. A guide to statistics on historical trends in income inequality. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities https://web.archive.org/web/20181004070121/https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/a-guide-to-statistics-on-historical-trends-in-income-inequality (2018).

  4. Duncan, G. J. & Murnane, R. J. Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances. (Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Markus, H. R. & Stephens, N. M. Editorial overview: Inequality and social class: The psychological and behavioral consequences of inequality and social class: a theoretical integration. Curr. Opin. Psychol. 18, iv–xii (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Lewis, O. The culture of poverty. in On Understanding Poverty: Perspectives from the Social Sciences (ed. Moynihan, D. P.) 187–200 (Basic Books, New York 1969).

  7. Wilson, W. J. The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass and Public Policy. (Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago, 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Wilson, W. J. When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. (Knopf, New York, 1996).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Markus, H. R. & Nurius, P. Possible Selves. Am. Psychol. 41, 954 (1986).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Oyserman, D. & Destin, M. Identity-based motivation: implications for intervention. Couns. Psychol. 38, 1001–1043 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Oyserman, D. Social identity and self-regulation. in Social psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles 2nd ed. (eds. Kruglanski, A. W. & Higgins, E. T.) 432–453 (Guilford Press, New York, 2007).

  12. Oyserman, D. Not just any path: implications of identity-based motivation for disparities in school outcomes. Econ. Educ. Rev. 33, 179–190 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Roese, N. J. & Sherman, J. W. Expectancy. in Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles 2nd ed. (eds. Kruglanski, A. W. & Higgins, E. T.) 91–115 (Guilford Press, New York, 2007).

  14. Simons, J., Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W. & Lacante, M. Placing motivation and future time perspective theory in a temporal perspective. Educ. Psychol. Rev. 16, 121–139 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Hershfield, H. E. et al. Increasing saving behavior through age-progressed renderings of the future self. J. Mark. Res. 48, S23–S37 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hershfield, H. E., Cohen, T. R. & Thompson, L. Short horizons and tempting situations: Lack of continuity to our future selves leads to unethical decision making and behavior. Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 117, 298–310 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. van Gelder, J.-L., Hershfield, H. E. & Nordgren, L. F. Vividness of the future self predicts delinquency. Psychol. Sci. 24, 974–980 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Van Gelder, J.-L., Luciano, E. C., Weulen Kranenbarg, M. & Hershfield, H. E. Friends with my future self: longitudinal vividness intervention reduces delinquency. Criminology 53, 158–179 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Schwarz, N. & Clore, G. L. Feelings and phenomenal experiences. in Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles 2nd ed. (eds. Kruglanski, A. W. & Higgins, E. T.) 385–407 (Guilford Press, New York, 2007).

  20. Markus, H. R. & Wurf, E. The dynamic self-concept: a social psychological perspective. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 38, 299–337 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. McConnell, A. R., Shoda, T. M. & Skulborstad, H. M. The self as a collection of multiple self-aspects: structure, development, operation, and implications. Soc. Cogn. 30, 380–395 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R. & Phillips, L. T. Social class culture cycles: how three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 65, 611–634 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. American Psychological Association. Stress in America: Paying with Our Health. https://web.archive.org/web/20181004070723/https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2014/stress-report.pdf (2015).

  24. GfK. Money and self-pressure are the leading major causes of stress internationally. GfK.com https://web.archive.org/web/20181004071338/https://www.gfk.com/fileadmin/user_upload/dyna_content/Global/documents/Press_Releases/2015/20151125_PR-study_Major-causes-of-stress_vfinal.pdf (2015).

  25. Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the Higher Education Research Institute. The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2015. (University of California, Los Angeles, 2015).

  26. Chetty, R. et al. The fading American dream: trends in absolute income mobility since 1940. Science 356, 398–406 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Reardon, S. F. & Bischoff, K. More unequal and more separate: growth in the residential segregation of families by income. US2010 Project https://web.archive.org/web/20180913053225/https://cepa.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/RussellSageIncomeSegregationreport.pdf (2011).

  28. Reardon, S. F. The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: new evidence and possible explanations. in Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality and the Uncertain Life Chances of Low-Income Children (eds. Duncan, G. J. & Murnane, R. J.) 91–115 (Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 2011).

  29. Reardon, S. F. & Bischoff, K. Income inequality and income segregation. Am. J. Sociol. 116, 1092–1153 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Owens, A., Reardon, S. F. & Jencks, C. Income segregation between schools and school districts. Am. Educ. Res. J. 53, 1159–1197 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Watson, T. Inequality and the measurement of residential segregation by income in American neighborhoods. Rev. Income Wealth 55, 820–844 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Hayes, T. J. Do citizens link attitudes with preferences? economic inequality and government spending in the “New Gilded Age”. Soc. Sci. Q. 95, 468–485 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Gilens, M. Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America. (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, USA, 2012).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  34. Bailey, M. J. & Dynarski, S. M. Inequality in Postsecondary Education. in Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children’s Life Chances (eds. Duncan, G. J. & Murnane, R. J.) 117–132 (Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 2011).

  35. Chetty, R., Friedman, J., Saez, E., Turner, N. & Yagan, D. Mobility report cards: the role of colleges in intergenerational mobility. NBER Working Paper Series, No. 23618 (2017).

  36. Becker, G. S. & Murphy, K. M. The upside of income inequality. The American. May – June (2007).

  37. Becker, G. S. & Tomes, N. An equilibrium theory of the distribution of income and intergenerational mobility. J. Polit. Econ. 87, 1153–1189 (1979).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Solon, G. A model of intergenerational mobility variation over time and place. in Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe (ed. Corak, M.) 38–47 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2004).

  39. Kearney, M. S. & Levine, P. B. Income inequality, social mobility, and the decision to drop out of high school. Brookings Pap. Econ. Act. 2016, 333–396 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Kearney, M. S. & Levine, P. B. Income inequality and early non-marital childbearing. J. Hum. Resour. 49, 1–31 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  41. Genicot, G. & Ray, D. Aspirations and inequality. Econometrica 85, 489–519 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Sewell, W. H. Jr. & Hauser, R. M. Education, Occupation, and Earnings: Achievement in the Early Career. (Academic Press, New York, 1975).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Akerlof, G. A. & Kranton, R. E. Economics and identity. Q. J. Econ. 115, 715–753 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Kraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., Mendoza-Denton, R., Rheinschmidt, M. L. & Keltner, D. Social class, solipsism, and contextualism: how the rich are different from the poor. Psychol. Rev. 119, 546–572 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Wegner, D. M. & Gilbert, D. T. Social psychology: the science of human experience. in The Message Within: The Role of Subjective Experience in Social Cognition and Behavior (eds. Bless, H. & Forgas, J. P.) 1–9 (Psychology Press, London, 2000).

  46. Payne, B. K., Brown-Iannuzzi, J. L. & Hannay, J. W. Economic inequality increases risk taking. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 4643–4648 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Nishi, A., Shirado, H., Rand, D. G. & Christakis, N. A. Inequality and visibility of wealth in experimental social networks. Nature 526, 426–429 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Browman, A. S., Destin, M., Carswell, K. L. & Svoboda, R. C. Perceptions of socioeconomic mobility influence academic persistence among low socioeconomic status students. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 72, 45–52 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Day, M. V. & Fiske, S. T. Movin’ on up? How perceptions of social mobility affect our willingness to defend the system. Soc. Psychol. Personal. Sci. 8, 267–274 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Shariff, A. F., Wiwad, D. & Aknin, L. B. Income mobility breeds tolerance for income inequality: cross-national and experimental evidence. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 11, 373–380 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. McCall, L., Burk, D., Laperrière, M. & Richeson, J. A. Exposure to rising inequality shapes Americans’ opportunity beliefs and policy support. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 9593–9598 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Davidai, S. Why do Americans believe in economic mobility? Economic inequality, external attributions of wealth and poverty, and the belief in economic mobility. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 79, 138–148 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Côté, S., House, J. & Willer, R. High economic inequality leads higher-income individuals to be less generous. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112, 15838–15843 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Davidai, S. & Gilovich, T. Building a more mobile America--one income quintile at a time. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 10, 60–71 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Laurin, K., Fitzsimons, G. M. & Kay, A. C. Social disadvantage and the self-regulatory function of justice beliefs. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 100, 149–171 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Wilkinson, R. G. & Pickett, K. E. The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone. (Bloomsbury Press, London, 2009).

  57. United Nations. Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries. UN Sustainable Development https://web.archive.org/web/20181002223106/https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/inequality/ (2015).

  58. Herrera, C., Grossman, J. B., Kauh, T. J. & McMaken, J. Mentoring in schools: an impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring. Child Dev. 82, 346–361 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Lynch, M., Astone, N. M., Collazos, J., Lipman, M. & Esthappan, S. Arches Transformative Mentoring Program: an implementation and impact evaluation in New York City. The Urban Institute https://web.archive.org/web/20181004072426/https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/96601/arches_transformative_mentoring_program.pdf (2018).

  60. College Advising Corps. Our Results. AdvisingCorps.org https://web.archive.org/web/20181004073547/https://advisingcorps.org/our-impact/our-results/ (2018).

  61. Levine, P. B. Designing effective mentoring programs for disadvantaged youth. Brookings Institution https://web.archive.org/web/20181004072843/https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/mentor_disadvantaged_youth_levine.pdf (2014).

  62. Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G. & Destin, M. Closing the social-class achievement gap: a difference-education intervention improves first-generation students’ academic performance and all students’ college transition. Psychol. Sci. 25, 943–953 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Dobbie, W. & Fryer, R. G. Getting beneath the veil of effective schools: evidence from New York City. Am. Econ. J. Appl. Econ. 5, 28–60 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Yeager, D. S. et al. Breaking the cycle of mistrust: wise interventions to provide critical feedback across the racial divide. J. Exp. Psychol. Gen. 143, 804–824 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Bartik, T. J., Hershbein, B. & Lachowska, M. The effects of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship on college enrollment, persistence, and completion. SSRN https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2624727 (2017).

  66. Cornwell, C., Mustard, D. B. & Sridhar, D. J. The enrollment effects of merit-based financial aid: evidence from Georgia’s HOPE program. J. Labor Econ. 24, 761–786 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Mayer’s Press Office. City Colleges’ star scholars thrive in second year with a 20 percent increase in enrollment, and overall higher retention rates and gpa than their peers. Office of the Mayor of the City of Chicago https://web.archive.org/web/20180905221917/https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2016/october/Star-Scholars-Thrive.html (2016).

  68. Chetty, R., Hendren, N. & Katz, L. F. The effects of exposure to better neighborhoods on children: new evidence from the Moving to Opportunity experiment. Am. Econ. Rev. 106, 855–902 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Roderick, M. What’s happening to the boys? Early high school experiences and school outcomes among African American male adolescents in Chicago. Urban Educ. 38, 538–607 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  70. Jachimowicz, J. M., Chafik, S., Munrat, S., Prabhu, J. C. & Weber, E. U. Community trust reduces myopic decisions of low-income individuals. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 5401–5406 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. Sánchez-Rodríguez, Á., Willis, G. B. & Rodríguez-Bailón, R. Economic and social distance: perceived income inequality negatively predicts an interdependent self-construal. Int. J. Psychol. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12437 (2017).

  72. Jachimowicz, J. M., Szaszi, B., Lukas, M., Prabhu, J. & Weber, E.U. The rising tide sinks the smallest boats: why higher economic inequality intensifies the poor’s financial hardship. in Behavioral Decision Research in Management Conference (2018).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA

    Alexander S. Browman

  2. School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Mesmin Destin

  3. Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Mesmin Destin

  4. Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Mesmin Destin

  5. Department of Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Melissa S. Kearney

  6. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Melissa S. Kearney & Phillip B. Levine

  7. Department of Economics, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA

    Phillip B. Levine

Authors
  1. Alexander S. Browman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mesmin Destin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Melissa S. Kearney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Phillip B. Levine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Phillip B. Levine.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Browman, A.S., Destin, M., Kearney, M.S. et al. How economic inequality shapes mobility expectations and behaviour in disadvantaged youth. Nat Hum Behav 3, 214–220 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0523-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0523-0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing