As a result, there are significant differences in the broader social circumstances
under which children in the two countries are being raised. Carasso,
Reynolds, and Steuerle (2008) attempt to estimate the global incidence of US
federal government spending on programs, like education, that promote mobility,
placing them into a broader context of total program spending. They find
that the US government spends considerable amounts in this way, up to 1.6
percent of GDP in 2006, but that only about one-quarter of these expenditures
are to the benefit of lower- to moderate-income individuals.
A notable example is the education system. At almost $15,000 per student,
America spends more on the schooling of its children than almost any other