More economic mobility promotes a healthier economy, says Yellen

Washington

FEDERAL Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said that economic mobility strengthens the economy and more research is needed on factors that influence it, including how families affect future prosperity and how public policy can help offer the most opportunity.

"Researchers and policymakers need a better understanding of how much mobility individuals may experience over the course of their lives," Ms Yellen said on Thursday in remarks prepared for delivery to a Fed conference on economic mobility in Washington. "Research may be able to provide evidence on which public policies are most helpful in building an economy in which people are poised to get ahead." Greater economic opportunity and mobility promote a "healthier economy" and entrepreneurship and innovation are key contributors to individual mobility as well as to a strong economy, Ms Yellen said. More research would help economists better understand how much mobility at the individual level matters for broader economic growth, she said.