PEORIA MAGAZINE February 2023

sizes. Importantly, the authors found that “areas with higher local tax rates, which are predominantly used to finance public schools, have higher rates of mobility.” 3. Social Capital : Regions within the U.S. with high community involvement and social networks have elevated mobility. Mobility is associated with greater par t icipat ion in Parent Teacher Organizations, local civic organizations, volunteerism, and rel igious activities. This f inding reinforces the themes of other authors who find that strong families and community involvement can reverse the tide on rising inequality. 4. Family Structure : Opportunity Insight authors report that the “strongest predictors of upward mobi lity are measures of fami ly structure such as the fraction of single parents in the area. As with race, parents' marital status does not matter purely through its effects at the individual level. Children of married parents also have higher rates of upward mobility if they live in communities with fewer single parents.” Lastly, factors that did not seem to make significant improvement in income inequality may surprise some. The researchers find that higher taxes on the affluent and larger tax credits for the poor have only marginal effects. Also, the number of local colleges and tuition rates had no correlation with mobility rates.

insights on the education or skill set channel through which segregation impacts inequality. They calculate the probability of earning a college degree for children born in the United States between 1978 and 1983 based on how segregated or “dissimilar” a particular community is. The chart above illustrates a positive relationship between the white/black college attainment gap and how segregated (or similar) a particular community

is. Rubinton and Isaacson state, “Segregation mechanisms such as redlining are no longer part of the legal framework of U.S. cities, but the legacy of that segregation continues to affect children.” 2. Public School Quality : Regions within the U.S. where K-12 public schools had higher test scores and lower dropout rates, after controlling for income levels, necessarily had smaller class

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L O CAL OWNE R S Alison Hammerton and Lesley Vonachen

90 FEBRUARY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE