Back | Programme Area: Social Policy and Development, Transformative Social Policy

Intergenerational Mobility in Education: Estimates of the Worldwide Variation

• Author(s): Tharcisio Leone
• Programme Area: Social Policy and Development, Transformative Social Policy
• Paper No.: 2
• Code: OI-OP---02
• Project Title: Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilization
• No. of Pages: 42

This paper applies the recently published “Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility” to present a detailed picture of the chances of mobility around the world. The empirical results obtained from transition matrices and linear regression models, and based on harmonized data for education attainments of children and their parents from 148 countries, point to three main conclusions: first, the likelihood of attaining intergenerational mobility differs widely across countries and word regions; second, intergenerational persistence in education is particularly strong in the least-developed countries; and, finally – and perhaps most importantly – the mobility gap between poor and rich countries has increased over time.

● Tharcisio Leone is an economist and research fellow at the German Institute of Global and Areas Studies (GIGA). Currently he is working on his doctorate at the Free University of Berlin, on the theme of intergenerational social mobility. His research concentrates mainly on educational economics, intergenerational mobility, equality of opportunity and social inequality.

• Publication and ordering details
• Pub. Date: 21 Aug 2019
  Pub. Place: Geneva
  ISBN: 978-92-9085-103-5
  From: UNRISD/UN Publications