Co-Sponsored with the Marriage Project

Professor Deirdre Bloome, University of Michigan
Associate Professor of Sociology

Title:  Rising Tides Lift Which Boats? Understanding Economic and Family Inequalities Across Generations​

Abstract: In assessing the extent to which individuals escape childhood disadvantages (or maintain childhood advantages), researchers often study relative mobility across generations (individuals’ movements up or down the income rankings from their parents’ positions). I will explore the connections between absolute and relative mobility, combining formal analyses with empirical illustrations to address several questions: Are there trade-offs or complementarities between absolute and relative mobility? What family dynamics predict these mobility experiences? Results suggest that absolute mobility can be increased by reducing relative mobility and that mobility experiences are strongly associated with family structure. Policies that promote absolute mobility have the potential to enhance living standards across generations without increasing equality of opportunity.

Bio: Deirdre Bloome is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and a Faculty Associate of the Population Studies Center and the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan. Her research uses demographic and statistical techniques to understand how patterns of social stratification are produced and reproduced in the United States. She holds a PhD in Sociology and Social Policy and an AM in Statistics from Harvard University. Her work has been published in outlets including the American Sociological Review, the American Journal of Sociology, and Demography, it has been supported by funders including the NIH, the NSF, and the Russell Sage Foundation, and it has been recognized by awards including the William Julius Wilson early career award from the American Sociological Association's section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility.