12 hours ago

S3E8 - How Race, Place, and Class Shapes Who Gets Ahead

Episode Notes

What does it truly mean to "get ahead" in America, and how do your family's background and neighborhood shape your economic destiny? Dr. Kimberly Eck sits down with sociologist Dr. Janeria Easley to explore intergenerational social mobility. Dr. Easley breaks down her research using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), combining five core factors—income, wealth, occupation, education, and neighborhood context—to create a holistic picture of origin and destination profiles across generations.

The conversation addresses stark nationwide racial disparities in mobility and examines why Atlanta recently ranked at the bottom of major metropolitan areas for upward mobility. Dr. Easley also shares how her team uses structural equation modeling and AI coding tools to push the boundaries of sociology, as well as how these findings can inform policy around student debt, school funding, and community investment.

Key Takeaways:

Beyond Income: Why evaluating social mobility requires looking simultaneously at wealth, education, occupation, neighborhood context, and income.
Racial Disparities & Atlanta: Understanding the structural "stickiness at the bottom" and why Atlanta faces unique challenges in intergenerational mobility for Black families.
Translational Sociology: Presenting findings directly to first-generation college students living out social mobility in real time.

Resources:

View Dr. Janeria Easley’s Faculty Profile: https://aas.emory.edu/people/bios/faculty/easley-janeria.html
Data Resources:
Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID - University of Michigan): https://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/
Opportunity Insights Data: https://opportunityinsights.org/

Call to Action:

To learn more about Dr. Janeria Easley's research and publications, visit her Emory Faculty Profile Page. Learn more about research initiatives across campus at https://research.emory.edu/research.emory.edu.

To stay updated on the latest research and impact at Emory, follow Impact in Progress on your favorite podcast platform, and if you are an Emory researcher interested in being featured, please reach out to Dr. Kimberly Eck at [email protected].