Spotlight

Opportunity Insights - Social Capital I: Measurement and Associations with Economic Mobility

Grantee: Opportunity Insights

Study Type: Correlational Study

Principal Investigator: Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert B. Fluegge, Federico Gonzalez, Matthew Jacob, Drew Johnston, Martin Koenen, Wilbur Townsend, & Ruby Zhang – Harvard University; Matthew O. Jackson – Stanford University; Theresa Kuchle, Johannes Stroebel, Sara Gong – New York University; Armelle Grondin, Florian Mudekereza, Tom Rutter, Nicolaj Thor – Opportunity Insights; Eduardo Laguna-Muggenburg – Grammarly; Mike Bailey, Pablo Barberá, Monica Bhole, Nils Wernerfelt – Meta Platforms

Project Description: This is a correlational study that examines the relations between the degree of interconnectedness of friend groups, measures of civic engagement (e.g., volunteering), and socioeconomic status (SES, as defined by a machine learning algorithm-generated index comprised of, for example, average income in an individual’s neighborhood and level of educational attainment). The study analyzed data from approximately 21 billion Facebook “friendships” in the United States.

Key Findings: The fraction of high-SES friends among low-SES individuals—which researchers term economic connectedness—is among the strongest predictors of upward income mobility identified to date, whereas other social capital measures are not strongly associated with economic mobility. If children with low-SES parents were to grow up in counties with economic connectedness comparable to that of the average child with high-SES parents, their incomes in adulthood would increase by 20 percent on average. Differences in economic connectedness can explain well-known relationships between upward income mobility and racial segregation, poverty rates, and inequality.

Study Citation: Chetty, Raj, et al. Social Capital I: Measurement and Associations with Economic Mobility. Working Paper 30313, National Bureau of Economic Research, July 2022. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w30313.

Full report here.

The Key Findings above were reproduced from the published report and do not necessarily reflect interpretation of Overdeck Family Foundation staff.

Research Repository

A collection of research funded by Overdeck Family Foundation.

Summaries of Research Grants

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As a leading education funder, we are dedicated to advancing the belief that “evidence matters” through novel, methodologically sound, and actionable research that uncovers programs and models with the potential to positively improve outcomes for all children. We believe research is a key way to increase awareness of what’s effective and to impact evidence-based decision-making and practice across our main grantmaking areas: early childhood, hands-on STEM education, and K-9 programs that include supporting educators and student-centered learning environments.

Aligned with our core value of “learn better, together,” Overdeck Family Foundation is committed to promoting transparent research practices by lifting up timely findings of the research we fund. We update this page as research is concluded and published, ensuring transparency for the field and our grantees.

Research Areas

Early Childhood

Validation and knowledge generation studies in the field of early childhood.

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K-9 Education

Research into what works for students and educators in the classroom.

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Out-of-School STEM

Validation and knowledge generation studies on the impact of out-of-school STEM.

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Other

Research into cross-cutting topics across the education sector.

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Early Childhood

Bright by Text - Sparking Connections: Evaluations of Mobile Messaging on Response Caregiving

Implementing CenteringParenting Model With an Urban Pediatric Population to Measure and Improve Clinical Outcomes and Parent Satisfaction

COVID-19 Relief Bolstered U.S. Child Care Programs in Crisis

Effect of Family Connects' Universal Postpartum Nurse Home Visiting Program on Child Maltreatment and Emergency Medical Care at 5 Years of Age: A Randomized Clinical Trial

I-LABS - Dual-MEG Interbrain Synchronization During Turn-Taking Verbal Interactions Between Mothers and Children

I-LABS - Language Experience During Infancy Predicts White Matter Myelination at Age Two

I-LABS & LENA - Language Input in Late Infancy Scaffolds Emergent Literacy Skills and Predicts Reading-Related White Matter Development

LENA - The Impact of a Language-Based Intervention, a Two-Part Study

LENA - The Relationship Between Conversational Turns and Student Achievement

Effect of Nurse-Family Partnership's Intensive Nurse Home Visiting Program on Adverse Birth Outcomes in a Medicaid-Eligible Population: A Randomized Clinical Trial

The Effect of Exposure to Reach Out and Read on Shared Reading Behaviors

University of Nebraska - Nebraska Spotlight: Key Findings That Highlight Connections Among Early Childhood Development, Families and Communities

Young Mathematicians in Worcester Evaluation

K-9 Education

Teaching Lab Professional Learning Series: Supporting Teachers to Deliver High-Quality, Equity-Oriented, and Curriculum-Aligned Mathematics Instruction

The Canopy Project - Evaluating the Impact of Innovative Schools

Study of CommonLit 360 Shows Gains on Reading Achievement

EdReports - State of the Instructional Materials Market: Use of Aligned Materials in 2022

EdTech Evidence Exchange - EdTech Context Inventory: Factor Analyses for Ten Instruments to Measure EdTech Implementation Context Features

Education First - Strategic School Staffing Solutions

Khan Academy - Use of MAP Accelerator Associated With Better-Than-Projected Gains in MAP Growth Scores

Does Teacher Professional Development Improve Student Learning? Evidence from Leading Educators' Teacher Fellowship Model

The Impact and Implementation of Leading Educators' Chicago Collaborative Teacher Professional Development Program

New Jersey Tutoring Corps School Year 2022-23 Efficacy Report

Next Education Workforce - Team-Based Staffing Models Can Make Schools Work Better for Both Learners and Educators

OnYourMark - The Effects of Virtual Tutoring on Young Readers

PERTS - Learning Conditions Are an Actionable, Early Indicator of Math Learning

Examining PowerMyLearning's Family Playlists' Impact on Student Social Emotional Learning and Science Mastery through Short-Cycle RCTs

Impact of PowerMyLearning's Social Emotional Learning Program: 2021-2022 Mid-Year and School Year Analysis

Effects of a Quill.org Intervention on Paragraph Revision

Saga Education - Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes among Adolescents

Effects of ST Math on Growth in Math Performance at the Grade-Level

Engaging Families Leads to Student Academic Gains and Increased Attendance: How TalkingPoints Improved Outcomes in a Large Urban School District

TNTP - Unlocking Acceleration: How Below-Grade Level Work is Holding Students Back in Literacy

UPchieve - Report on Impact of Online Tutoring on Math Achievement

Efficacy Analysis of Zearn Math: Findings from implementation in Louisiana

Efficacy Analysis of Zearn Math in DC Public Schools

Zearn - Catching Up and Moving Forward: Accelerating Math Learning for Every Student

Out-of-School STEM

Camp Invention - Invention Education as a Context for Children's Identity Exploration

DiscoverE - Messages Matter

FIRST® Longitudinal Study: 2022 Survey Results (108-Month Follow-Up)

Museum Digital Engagement: Before, During, and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

RAND - Expanding Afterschool Opportunities: Connecting STEM Afterschool Providers and Schools

WNET - Cyberchase’s Impact on Environmental and STEM Learning

Other

Access to Afterschool Programs Remains a Challenge for Many Families

Afterschool Rising to the Challenges Brought on by the Pandemic

Learning Heroes' Parents 2022 - Hidden in Plain Sight: A Way Forward for Equity-Centered Family Engagement

Opportunity Insights - Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges

Opportunity Insights - Social Capital I: Measurement and Associations with Economic Mobility