Pew Trusts Pour $2.2-Million Into Economic-Mobility Study

The Pew Charitable Trusts, in Philadelphia, will give $2.2-million over two years to support a study by two liberal and two conservative Washington think tanks to examine the ability of Americans to improve their economic status during their lifetimes, and from generation to generation, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Rebecca W. Rimel, Pew’s chief executive, tells the Journal that the effort is designed to encourage scholars at the four foundations—the American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Brookings Institution, and Urban Institute—to work collaboratively to reach a consensus on this issue.

“It’ll model the kind of behavior we think would be good: coming together to solve problems rather than carving them up,” Ms. Rimel said.

The Economic Mobility Project aims to make information about the range of opportunity available to people in America accessible to the public and lawmakers. Details about the study are available on the project’s Web site.

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