RSF Journal Conference: Inequality of Economic Opportunity

Over the last several decades, the inequality of economic outcomes has widened sharply in the United States. Even as observers agree on the desirability of equal opportunity, there is considerable controversy about the optimal degree of equality in economic outcomes and/or the policies needed to achieve these goals. Nonetheless, as the rungs of the income ladder (outcomes) move farther apart, the consequences—via unequal opportunity—of the specific rung a child’s parents occupy become more severe, increasing the importance of implementing policies to equalize opportunity.

For an upcoming issue of the new RSF Journal, economists Katharine Bradbury and Robert Triest will organize a symposium in Boston, Massachusetts. The conference will feature six articles that examine the extent of inequality of economic opportunity and its manifestations at the level of individual characteristics, early childhood experiences, educational institutions, and neighborhoods. Authors will also present estimates of unequal opportunity’s consequent cost of lower human capital and reduced economic output and consider the efficacy of possible policy remedies. Bradbury and Triest will serve as the guest editors for this special issue.

The first day will open with a keynote address by Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The second day will begin with a conference address by Eric Rosengren, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and end with a luncheon panel session where policymakers will be asked to synthesize the conference findings and present their views on what policy changes are desirable to address the problem of unequal economic opportunity in the United States and elsewhere.