Chasing the American Dream: | Understanding What Shapes Our Fortunes

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The United States has been epitomized as a land of opportunity, where hard work and skill can bring personal success and economic well-being. The American Dream has captured the imagination of people from all walks of life, and to many, it represents the heart and soul of the country. But there is another, darker side to the bargain that America strikes with its people—it is the price we pay for our individual pursuit of the American Dream. That price can be found in the economic hardship present in the lives of millions of Americans.

PlayInterview with Mark Rank

PlayMark Rank Lecture at University of California at Berkeley

In Chasing the American Dream, leading social scientists Mark Robert Rank, Thomas A. Hirschl, and Kirk A. Foster provide a new and innovative look into a curious dynamic—the tension between the promise of economic opportunities and rewards and the amount of turmoil that Americans encounter in their quest for those rewards.

Combining dozens of personal interviews with a longitudinal study covering 40 years of income data, the authors tell the story of the American Dream and reveal a number of surprises. The risk of economic vulnerability has increased substantially over the past four decades, and the American Dream is becoming harder to reach and harder to keep (individuals can calculate their own vulnerability with the poverty risk calculator). Chasing the American Dream provides us with a new understanding into the dynamics that shape our fortunes and a deeper insight into the importance of the American Dream for the future of the country.