Cross-national rankings of intergenerational mobility: a comparison of approaches from economics and sociology

Blanden, Jo (2013) Cross-national rankings of intergenerational mobility: a comparison of approaches from economics and sociology. Journal of Economic Surveys, 27 (1). pp. 38-73. ISSN 0950-0804

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Abstract

This paper summarizes research on the relative level of intergenerational mobility – whether classified by income, education or social class. The literatures on education and income mobility reveal a similar ranking with South America, other developing nations, southern European countries and France tending to have rather limited mobility although the Nordic countries exhibit strong mobility. Estimates of mobility based on social class point to rather different patterns, and we demonstrate that these differences are most likely generated by intergenerational earnings persistence within social classes. The second part of the paper looks for explanations for the differences in earnings and education persistence and finds that mobility is negatively correlated with inequality and the return to education but positively correlated with a nation's education spending.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(IS...
Additional Information:	© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Library of Congress subject classification:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
Journal of Economic Literature Classification System:	D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies > J62 - Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies > J68 - Public Policy
Sets:	Collections > Economists Online Research centres and groups > Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)
Funders:	Sutton Trust, Carnegie Corporation of New York, ESRC
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2014 14:42
URL:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/59310/

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