New Books in Economics Mark R. Rank, "Poorly Understood: What America Gets Wrong about Poverty" (Oxford UP, 2021)
Jul 26, 2025
Mark R. Rank, a Professor at Washington University, sheds light on the widespread myths surrounding poverty in America. He challenges the notion that hard work alone leads to success, revealing systemic barriers that keep many in economic hardship. Rank discusses the high prevalence of poverty across diverse demographics and critiques harmful narratives about welfare and family structures. He advocates for more comprehensive discussions on economic stability and argues for policy reforms to combat poverty and inequality effectively.
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Limited Upward Income Mobility
- U.S. has less upward income mobility than many similar countries.
- Few raised in the bottom 20% reach the top 20%, showing rags-to-riches tales are rare.
Education Helps but Has Limits
- Education is important but cannot alone solve poverty due to structural limitations.
- The labor market offers only limited good jobs, so education improves position but not overall opportunities.
Welfare Myths Debunked
- Single-parent families have higher poverty in the U.S., but not in countries with strong social supports.
- Myths about welfare encouraging more children are disproved by research and firsthand accounts.
