Study: Unions Boost Economic Mobility of Children
Children whose parents belonged to a union as well as those who grew up in geographic areas with high union membership climb higher up the career ladder and earn more money as adults, according to a report by the Center for American Progress (CAP).
The report was released Wednesday at CAP headquarters in Washington, D.C., accompanied by a panel discussion which included former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers, Richard Freeman, co-author of the report and an economics professor at Harvard University, and CAP managing director of economic policy and report co-author, David Madland.
Unions are a significant predictor of economic mobility even after controlling for variables including race, industry type, education level of parents, and other factors, said Madland, during his presentation of the report, Bargaining for the American Dream: What Unions do for Mobility.
“We found that regions with greater union density had higher mobility for low-income children,” Madland said. “We also found that having a union parent leads to better educational and health outcomes for children.”
The authors, including Wellesley College Professor Eunice Han and CAP policy analyst Brendan Duke, identified this intergenerational union effect as being stronger for less-educated and less-skilled parents. Previous economic studies were referenced by the authors, Madland said, particularly one that employed five factors showing the strongest geographical relationship with mobility: single motherhood rates, income inequality, high school dropout rates, social capital, and segregation.
The CAP report may be the first, according to researchers, to examine the relationship between mobility and another variable that had not been considered: union membership.
“Researchers have produced a plethora of studies on how falling union membership has increased income inequality, and this report will hopefully inspire others to Study: Unions Boost Economic Mobility of Children - NEA Today: