COMPASSION  

Path Out of Poverty?

     What say? Let's put a lid on politics for today. 

     Some children climb the economic ladder as adults, while others never escape the poverty of their childhood. Why is this?

     Research published by Harvard suggests that parental employment is key to a child's long-term economic improvement - most importantly employment among the parents of a child's school mates or friends. 

     It's long been known that children who grow up in poverty make less money than their peers in adulthood. They also have worse outcomes in health and education. 

     There was a study of tax and census data of 57 million American children born between 1978 and 1992. Children raised in neighborhoods with high rates of parental employment made the greatest economic strides. This was true even if the child's own parents didn't have jobs. 

     If parents of friends and neighbors were employed, such children tended to earn more as adults, achieved higher SAT and ACT scores, and were more likely to be employed and pursued more education. 

      So...a child's future economic success isn't always a credit to affluent, well-educated parents.

     Other research confirms that the power of social environment is often key. Encouragement matters, wherever it comes from.  

          Jimmy