Research

At the Archbridge Institute, we bring a fresh perspective to academic research
by encouraging a multidisciplinary approach to better understand
the nature of economic mobility.

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The Latest Publications

Early Childhood Education Programs: Best Practices

Early Childhood Education Programs: Best Practices

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Summary
Early childhood education programs play a crucial role in promoting social mobility by providing disadvantaged children with a strong foundation for lifelong success. These programs recognize the importance of the early years in shaping a child’s development and aim to mitigate the effects of socioeconomic disparities that can hinder upward mobility.

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Building soft skills for the Future of Work

Building soft skills for the Future of Work

Click here to open the PDF in a new tab. Key Points Over the past several decades, the nature of the economy has shifted from a goods-based economy to a service-based economy. This shift has also changed the kinds of skills most sought after and rewarded in the labor...

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American Dream Snapshot 2023

American Dream Snapshot 2023

Click here to open PDF in a new tab. With the 2024 presidential election starting to take shape, America’s spiral toward further polarization and tribalism seems poised to continue. Economic challenges are front and center in people’s minds, including a spending and debt crisis, inflation, banking uncertainty, and the possibility of a coming recession.

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State Occupational Licensing Index 2023

State Occupational Licensing Index 2023

Click here to open the PDF in a new tab. Overview Occupational licensing affects more than 20 percent of workers in the United States. The extent of occupational licensing greatly differs across states. From both a research and public policy standpoint, it is...

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Personal Independence Behind Declining Birth Rates

Personal Independence Behind Declining Birth Rates

This article was originally published in the Harris Poll. World fertility rates—defined by the World Bank as “the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with...

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The Meaning Mindset: Existential Agency in America

The Meaning Mindset: Existential Agency in America

Click here to open the PDF in a new tab. Key Findings: Most Americans (69%) agree or strongly agree that they have the power to live a meaningful life (high existential agency). This is the case for both men and women and across regions of the country. The percent of...

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Marginal Tax Rates and Economic Opportunity

Marginal Tax Rates and Economic Opportunity

Click here to open the PDF in a new tab. Key Findings: The marginal tax wedge is relevant for understanding how workers might benefit (or not) from an increase in pay once taxes enter the picture. Marginal tax wedges might deter workers from pursuing additional income...

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Existential Agency in America

Existential Agency in America

Click here to view PDF in a new tab. Existential psychology plays a central role in human progress and flourishing, in part, because meaning in life is a self-regulatory and motivational resource that helps people live healthy, productive, prosocial, and goal-oriented...

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American Dream 2020 Snapshot

American Dream 2020 Snapshot

In our currently polarized country, there seem to be very few things that can bring us together. The sense of tribalism in our culture and politics has been magnified by the Coronavirus pandemic—which many of us hoped might bring a sense of unity to the country in the fight against a common enemy.

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Promoting Skills

Promoting Skills

Societies everywhere face the problems of poverty, inequality, and economic and social immobility. The severity of these problems differs by country. Governments everywhere, including those in the United States (U.S.), are enacting policies to alleviate them.

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Why Meaning Matters For Freedom And Flourishing

Why Meaning Matters For Freedom And Flourishing

May 2020Clay Routledge Click here to open the PDF in a new Tab Social, behavioral, and health scientists are increasingly appreciating how important meaning in life is to both mental and physical wellbeing. People who view their lives as full of meaning and purpose...

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Deserting Workers? Barriers to Work in New Mexico

Deserting Workers? Barriers to Work in New Mexico

In “Deserting Workers? Barriers to Work in New Mexico,” Dr. Edward Timmons and Conor Norris highlight how occupational licensing restrictions are holding back New Mexicans attempting to climb the income ladder. Building on previous research that tracked state-by-state growth in low- to moderate-income occupations requiring a license, the researchers also suggest solutions for policymakers looking to expand economic opportunities.

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Economic Mobility in America, Part Two

Economic Mobility in America, Part Two

In the second part of our three-part primer on economic mobility in the US, this latest report by Dr. Scott Winship reassesses the cross-national evidence on intergenerational economic mobility, updates previous conclusions by reviewing more recent research and reevaluates the older literature. Dr. Winship challenges the conventional wisdom of upward mobility highlights previously neglected nuances in the literature that complicate the simple conclusion that the fates of American children are more tied to their family circumstances than is true of children in other countries.

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The Importance of Structural Factors in Understanding Economic Mobility

The Importance of Structural Factors in Understanding Economic Mobility

Gonzalo Schwarz, president and CEO of the Archbridge Institute, reviews the literature and examines recent studies on the importance of structural factors in understanding economic mobility. He finds that the analysis raises quite a few questions and notes that expanding the opportunity to climb the income ladder should be the main focus of the inequality and mobility debate.

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