EXPANDING MOBILITY: The Power of Linked Administrative Data for Spatial Analysis

To craft solutions that expand economic mobility, we need to study it holistically. This brief outlines the unique benefits of conducting spatial analysis with administrative data that have been linked across multiple sources to explore the many dimensions of our environment that impact mobility. In the first section, we explore the historical, built, and social dimensions of place and how they impact mobility. In the second section, we describe why cross-sector administrative data on both people and places, linked at the individual level, better allow researchers to incorporate these dimensions of place in their analysis of mobility. In the third section, we describe how jurisdictions are building the capacity to use linked, cross-sector data for spatial analysis, and dive into one example of how partners in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, are turning analysis into action by unifying “people” and “place” data. We close with recommendations for those working at this important intersection to advance equity and mobility.