Article by Xavier Jaravel, Raj Chetty, John Van Reenen and Alexander Bell

A new analysis shows how family background influences who grows up to invent. The key to turning things around? Expose kids to more inventors.

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Times Union

How talented kids from low income families become America's 'lost Einsteins'

To maximize innovation and growth, all of our brightest youth should have the opportunity to become inventors. But a study we recently conducted, jointly with Neviana Petkova of the U.S. Treasury, paints a very different picture. We found that a child’s potential for future innovation seems to have as much to do with the circumstances of his or her family background as it does with his or her talent. We concluded that there are many “Lost Einsteins” in America – children who had the ability to innovate, but whose socioeconomic class or gender greatly reduced their ability to tap into the social networks and resources necessary to become inventors. Our analysis sheds light on how increasing these young people’s exposure to innovators may be an important way to reduce these disparities and increase the number of inventors.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/How-talented-kids-from-low-income-families-become-12520832.php

Newstimes

How talented kids from low-income families become America's 'lost Einsteins'

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/How-talented-kids-from-low-income-families-become-12520832.php

Related publications

‘Who Becomes an Inventor in America?  The Importance of Exposure to Innovation’, Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova and John Van Reenen, mimeo, December 2017

http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/assets/documents/inventors_paper.pdf

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