Opportunity Economics is the public policy mindset and framework that can place the American Dream within reach of all Americans.  It rests on the view that sustainable, robust economic growth and increased equality of opportunity are each best achieved by pursuing both in tandem.  In an Opportunity Economy, a strong economy supported is through policies that give ordinary people the power to earn more, take risks to invest in themselves and their families, and better their own lives.

Belief #1: Economic growth is best sustained by expanding opportunity -- and vice versa.

Only robust economic growth can deliver new avenues of opportunity like those that arose in the late 1990s.  On the flip side, broad-based opportunity fuels greater economic growth; as human capital, assets, and earning power are distributed more broadly the economy gains from the contributions of all Americans (e.g., sustained growth in the 1950s and 1960s driven by an expanding middle class).

Belief #2: An Opportunity Economy has several defining themes:

• Level playing field capitalism: Everybody should have access to the power of markets, including labor, capital, credit, and housing markets. It also means low barriers to business competition, which will spur innovation, increased consumer choices, and productivity.
• Investments in human capital: All Americans should have equal access to human capital -- such as universal Pre-K, access to college/university, adult continuing education, and vocational training -- that will ensure individuals are equipped with the skills and education needed to participate in our dynamic economy.
• Prosperity escalators: Young families and entry-level workers can climb the ladder of success through hard work, thrift, and persistence. Policies that help young adults and families to increase earning power and assets -- by encouraging home ownership, savings, and reducing tax burdens -- are critical for upward economic mobility.
• Social trampoline: Americans need policies that encourage them to take risks and bounce back from setbacks. Policies that reflect the reality of our dynamic economy include portable and flexible pensions, retirement funds, and health care accounts, as well as robust worker retraining in the face of outsourcing and downsizing. Social trampoline policies for the 21st century will allow ordinary workers and families the freedom and security to realize their own potential.

Belief #3: Our national debate should focus on achieving an Opportunity Economy.

In the 1980s and 1990s, with leadership from both parties, America made tremendous gains in lowering interest rates, strengthening international free trade agreements, establishing work-based social policies, increasing the productivity and earning power of American workers, and growing the American economy.  Since then, however, partisanship has increased and both parties have resorted to attacks on businesses and market-based principles.  America's future depends on a return to the post-1970s consensus that led to so many years of growth.

Belief #4: A new generation of business leaders has an essential role to play.

A new generation of business professionals and executives has evolved in the dynamic economy of the past 20 years.  With changes in technology and globalization, businesses and industries have been forced to transform at an unprecedented pace to meet new organizational challenges.  The generation that lived and worked through these transformations is well equipped to face the challenges of building an Opportunity Economy by realigning the mindsets of interest groups, activists, and political leaders in favor of opportunity-expanding policies.  We can play this role by articulating and advancing ideas - many of which have already been formed in think tanks on both the Left and Right - and using those ideas to build new coalitions and new approaches.  We can and should reshape the national debate so that opportunity and growth become central to the economic agenda across the political spectrum.

What is the Economic Opportunity Index?

The Economic Opportunity Index (EOI) a quantitative measure of Americans' ability to capitalize on their skills, talents, and hard work to achieve economic security for themselves and their families. The EOI team has engaged in extensive work to define "economic opportunity" and begun research on how the quality and availability of education, the extent of market competition, and many other factors might affect opportunity. With the assistance of the NDP Group, an economic research consultancy, the team is collecting data and performing initial calculations regarding levels of economic opportunity -- lifetime income, net worth, and other factors -- for key demographic and income groups. Building on initial work done over the summer, the team is examining the economic literature to identify variables that have a consistent, measurable effect on economic opportunity to be included in the final index. Learn more about the EOI
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