Can We Make Mobility Measures Easier to Understand?

Some of my favorite visualizations of all time come from collaborations between Opportunity Insights/ Raj Chetty team and the New York Times Upshot. See for example, the 2017 classic: Where the top 1% and bottom 20% go to College

Yet if you have ever read an academic report about inequality or mobility you might notice that it is easy to lose track of what exactly all these numbers are supposed to mean. During the 2018-2019 academic year, I co-led an interdisciplinary team including experts in visualization, accessibility, inequality and poverty, contributing my own knowledge of social mobility.

Our team made two contributions to study the of mobility, visualization, and social science communication:

• A collaborative website, Welcome to Mobilitown making the connection between academic concepts and public conversations about mobility and inequality. Click the link to follow Omar and Ava make measurement meaningful in this helpful infographic.
  
  

• Six new primary research projects on social mobility by undergraduate team members.

See each paper’s leading visual, and clink the link to learn more.

• Is Talent Enough? Understanding How Countries Identify and Nurture Talent for High Achievement

• Understanding the Relationship Between Economic Downturns and Social Mobility

• Understanding Pathways to Diverse Representation amongst Kenyan Professors
  
  

• Understanding South African Cabinet Member’s Paths to Mobility
  
  

• How Social Class Background Affects Student Self-Expression and Perception in the Classroom
  

• Social Capital and Social Mobility in Indonesia