'Life as a wonk is complete' after surprise affirmation

Academic work published by the member for Fraser was used in the Economic Report of the President, published on February 17.

The annual report justifies the President's policies and this year outlined a blueprint for economic recovery. A section of the 446-page document focused on income inequality and cited Mr Leigh's economic research from a 2009 paper.

Mr Leigh tweeted the details to his 1241 followers last week.

''It's a thrill to be cited and I tweeted that my life as a wonk is complete, it's nice to have the old stuff cited,'' Mr Leigh said. ''It's a paper that plays into an interesting discussion in the United States about whether a widening gap between rich and poor makes it harder for a poor kid to jump into the middle class.

''[Research partner] Dan Andrews and I have one of the few academic papers around on this which finds that yes, indeed, countries that have massive gulfs between the class are also countries where it's harder to jump across classes in a lifetime. ''The Economic Report of the President speaks about this and why people should care about the widening gap between the rich and poor.''

Mr Obama has argued passionately to bridge the gap and has sought to improve the economic situation of the lower classes by funding health and education, changes to the tax code and proposals around investing in jobs for low-income areas. Mr Leigh said he was glad to aid the cause of a fellow progressive politician.

''Americans think of themselves as a fabulously mobile society but it turns out they're actually one of the most immobile societies.

''The countries where it's easiest to move from rags to riches are the Scandinavian nations, Australia then sits in the middle of the pack.''

■Read the full report at the www.canberratimes.com.au website.