Stanford Research: A high-stakes birth lottery in the U.S.
A new study by Stanford researchers describes how American children born into high-income families can expect far greater earnings and income over their lifetimes than children born into low-income families.
When one wins the "birth lottery" by being born into a higher-income family, the economic payoff is very large, according to Stanford researchers.
"This result is not consistent with the American dream in which children from low-income families are supposed to have ample opportunities for economic mobility," said David Grusky, the director of the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality.