A new Pew study on economic mobility of the states finds that despite Louisiana's business-friendly reputation, residents here are less likely to
find the American dream.' Louisiana has made its way to the bottom of yet another national ranking, this time for the inability of residents here to climb up the income ladder and improve their economic status.
According to data compiled in Economic Mobility of the States, a first-of-its-kind study from Pew Charitable Trusts, Louisiana is listed with Oklahoma and South Carolina as the three states with the lowest scores in economic mobility, or the measure of economic growth (or decline) in residents over a 10-year period:
Economic Mobility of the States evaluates economic mobility in three ways, including absolute mobility measuring residents' average earnings growth over time as well as upward and downward relative mobility measuring people's rank on the ladder relative to their peers. Those states that rank above the national average on at least two measures are considered "better" and those that are below on at least two are considered "worse."
This study investigates Americans' mobility prospects during their prime working years the 10-year span between ages 35-39 and 45-49. The research focuses on individuals born between 1943 and 1958, with the most recent data coming from 2007. The data is drawn from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the Social Security Administration. All of the research conducted with confidential Census Bureau data was performed by Dr. Bhashkar Mazumder, senior economist in the economic research department, with assistance from Jonathan M. V. Davis, senior associate economist, both of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Louisiana is one of only three states that scored below average in all three categories used to measure economic mobility.
Read more about the study and Louisiana's ranking here.