Replication Data for: The Dynamic American Dream
Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)
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Title |
Replication Data for: The Dynamic American Dream
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Identifier |
https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/QTMOVG
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Creator |
Wolak, Jennifer
Peterson, David A. M. |
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Publisher |
Harvard Dataverse
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Description |
The American Dream is central to the national ethos, reflecting people’s optimism that all who are willing to work hard can achieve a better life than their parents. Separate from the support for the idea of the American Dream itself is whether the public believes it is attainable. We consider the origins and dynamics of the public’s belief in the achievability of the American Dream. Is the American Dream a symbolic vision, rooted in political socialization rather than contemporary politics? Or does optimism about the American Dream follow from the viability of the dream, rising with economic prosperity and falling with declining opportunity? We develop a new macro-level measure of belief in the American Dream from 1973 to 2018. We show that it moves over time, responsive to changes in social mobility, income inequality, and economic perceptions. As inequality increases, belief in the attainability of the American Dream declines.
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Subject |
Social Sciences
American Dream |
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Contributor |
Wolak, Jennifer
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Source |
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements. 2018. “Table H-4. Gini Indexes for Households, by Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2018.” www.census.gov/data/tables/timeseries/ demo/income-poverty/historical-income-inequality.html Chetty, Raj, David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy Narang. 2017. “The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility Since 1940.” Science 356:398-406. Chetty, Raj, David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy Narang. 2017. “Fading American Dream: Baseline Estimates of Absolute Mobility by Parent Income Percentile and Child Birth Cohort.” opportunityinsights.org/data/ U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey. 2019. “Table 14. Homeownership Rates for the US and Regions: 1964 to Present.” www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtab14.xlsx Stimson, James A. 1999. Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings . 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Stimson, James A. 2016. “Public Policy Mood.” Accessed June 1, 2019. stimson.web.unc.edu/files/2017/08/Mood5216.xls University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. 2019. “Index of Consumer Sentiment.” Accessed June 1, 2019. www.sca.isr.umich.edu/tables.html Fading American Dream, file name “Baseline Estimates of Absolute Mobility by Parent Income Percentile and Child Birth Cohort.” opportunityinsights.org/data/ |
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