The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity.

We collaborate with national and local leaders across the United States – nonprofit leaders, policymakers, labor leaders, business leaders, educators, academics, and more – and we actively seek input and ideas from individuals and communities affected by proposed approaches to address economic opportunity challenges. Through our leadership and fellowship programs; applied research and evaluation; data and analysis; and dialogue with diverse stakeholders, we work at both local and national levels to build understanding and galvanize action to address the challenge of economic opportunity in America.

Join our mailing list and follow us on social media for regular updates on our work.

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Blog Posts

Transcript — The Future of Equal Opportunity

Equal opportunity is an aspiration that was undermined even as it was written into our founding documents, and it remains both elusive and exalted as the bedrock of a free and just society.

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — September & October 2025
Blog Posts

Upcoming Events from the Economic Opportunities Program — September & October 2025

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. We hope you’ll join us at one of our upcoming events, which you can learn about below.

Worker Power in the Age of AI Monopolies: Why We Need Structural Solutions Now
Blog Posts

Worker Power in the Age of AI Monopolies: Why We Need Structural Solutions Now

We have come a long way in making sure workers are a part of the conversation about how AI is deployed in their workplaces. But while we talk, tech monopolies are consolidating the power to make development and decisions unilaterally.

Job Quality Newsletter – Reflections Beyond Labor Day
Blog Posts

Job Quality Newsletter – Reflections Beyond Labor Day

In this edition of our Job Quality Newsletter, we share reflections beyond Labor Day and explore how good jobs can shape the well-being of workers, families, and communities.

Reflections on the Future of Work from Aspen Ideas Festival 2025
Blog Posts

Reflections on the Future of Work from Aspen Ideas Festival 2025

At this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival, conversations across sessions from AI to religion to capitalism kept circling around a question that’s been keeping me up at night: How do we ensure rapid, disruptive change strengthens rather than erodes American opportunity and democracy?

Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — August 2025
Blog Posts

Economic Opportunities Program Monthly Digest — August 2025

We are pleased to present a selection of our work from the past month.

Blue bus moving on the road in city in early morning
Blog Posts

To improve economic opportunity, we need better transit

Choosing to design and fund transit that maximizes workers’ access to jobs and services offers a path toward a fairer economic future.

Graphic image featuring headshots of four speakers: Sarah St.Onge, Adrian Flores, Ashley Bell, and Juan Carlos Lopez.
Blog Posts
Job Quality Newsletter – Rest is Essential Work
Blog Posts

Job Quality Newsletter – Rest is Essential Work

In this issue we offer strategies for ensuring that work provides the means for a dignified, quality life, rather than work itself becoming life.

Power, Agency, and Autonomy: The Future of Worker Voice
Blog Posts

Power, Agency, and Autonomy: The Future of Worker Voice

Because here’s the fundamental truth no algorithm can calculate: what happens when millions of working people stand together, speak with one voice, and demand the dignity and respect they deserve. The future of work is still being written. Let’s make sure it works for all of us.

About the Economic Opportunities Program

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

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More from the Economic Opportunities Program

Foundational Skills: National Survey Findings
Publications

Foundational Skills: National Survey Findings

This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.

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Podcasts Videos

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

This conversation is part of our Opportunity in America series, where we take a look at the economy, what’s working, what’s broken, and really how we fix it to make sure that everyone can succeed in today’s economy.

Resource Roundup: Wages and Affordability
Blog Posts
Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis
Publications

Room for Growth: A Survey of Upskilling Approaches — 2026 Analysis

This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes
Podcasts Videos

Building Economic Security: A Book Talk with Arindrajit Dube and Carrie Joy Grimes

Economic security shouldn’t be a lottery. Yet for millions of working families, stagnant wages and precarious jobs collide with the daily grind of managing money on shaky ground — leaving stability feeling less like a plan and more like a gamble. Fixing that takes more than one lever. It takes structural reform and the tools people need to take control of their financial lives, working together.

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers
Publications

What Employee Ownership Means to Workers

Insights from Focus Groups with Employee Owners