"Who gets ahead in today's America and why? McMurrer and Sawhill sort through a thicket of data to come up with fresh, revealing answers. While some of their conclusions are reassuring—opportunities for upward mobility are actually increasing!— others provide new urgency for reforming K-12 education and strengthening family life."
—David Gergen, U.S. New & World Report

Adapted in part from the Opportunity in America series of policy briefs, this volume focuses on social and economic mobility in the United States. The authors find that class or family background has a strong effect on individual success. They examine the possible reasons for this relationship, how it has changed over the past century, and the role of the economy, the welfare system, and the education in opening up opportunities for the less fortunate.