SES Paradigm Misleads Policy

The widespread assumption that family socioeconomic status (education, class, income) is the dominant causal driver of children’s educational and labor outcomes is likely overstated; much of the correlation may instead reflect parents' cognitive ability and genetic transmission. If true, many policies aimed at reducing intergenerational inequality by targeting SES alone will have limited effects. — Arguing that the SES paradigm is flawed shifts the terms of debates about education reform, redistribution, and social mobility and calls for different evidence standards and policy expectations.