Intergenerational mobility across the world: Where socioeconomic status of parents matters the most (and least)

a column by Ambar Narayan and Roy Van der Weide for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal

Intergenerational mobility is important for both fairness and economic efficiency in a society.

This column uses data from a new global study spanning five decades to show that average relative mobility is lower in developing economies, with no sign that the gap with developed countries is getting smaller.

In addition, income mobility in several developing economies is much lower than their levels of educational mobility would lead us to expect. Labour market deficiencies appear to be contributing to this gap between mobility in education and income.

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