Economic Approach to Intergenerational Mobility

This chapter provides an analytical survey and synthesis of economic literature on intergenerational mobility in developing countries, with a focus on data and methodological challenges. Sample truncation from co-residency and measurement error cause substantial downward bias in intergenerational regression coefficient, whereas intergenerational correlation and intergenerational rank correlation are more robust to such data limitations. To understand heterogeneity, reliable estimates of both the intercept and the slope are necessary. The OLS estimate of the intercept is biased upward, but less so in the rank–rank regression. Sibling correlation is a broader measure of mobility, especially convenient with limited data. Estimating intergenerational causal effects is challenging as it requires long panel data. A promising alternative is to focus on the causal effects of policies on measurement of relative and absolute mobility, without disentangling the role of genetic inheritance.

Cultural Values, Intergenerational Transmission of Internalized Racism, Education, and Career Goals in Chinese American Families

The present study is the first of its kind using a dyadic and prospective research design to test whether traditional Asian cultural values and internalized racism among Chinese American adolescents and their first-generation immigrant parents are influential factors in the educational and vocational goals of the adolescents by the time they become young adults. While results show that traditional Asian cultural values and internalized racism were not related to adolescents’ educational aspiration or young adults’ major choice, results do show an intergenerational correlation in internalized racism. Furthermore, results show that youth who planned to pursue science/health professions had significantly higher levels of internalized racism than those who planned to pursue business/law professions. Findings suggest that internalized racism may restrict parents’ expectations and goals for their children and, in tandem, serve as a barrier for youths’ self-determination or sense of autonomy in their selection of college majors and career development.

Scaling Occupations in Intergenerational Research - An Evaluation with Swedish register data

We evaluate how different occupational scales prevalent in the literature can capture intergenerational transmissions in Sweden. Previous research is limited by not taking competing dimensions of SES transmission into account when assessing performances of occupational scales. Using Swedish administrative data, we find, in contrast to classical findings, that the composite International Socio-Economic Index of occupational status (ISEI) has the highest intergenerational correlations net of other SES dimensions (education, income and wealth), followed by Treiman measure of occupational prestige (SIOPS). The now popular measure of occupational education following from Hauser and Warren (1997) suffer from slightly larger overlap with education; more of its intergenerational correlation is explained by parents’ education. However, similar to Hauser and Warren, we find monetary scales of occupations based on earnings or wages to have lower intergenerational significance. The CAMSIS scale for status lies in between occupational earnings and education.

Equality of opportunity is linked to lower mortality in Europe

BackgroundThis study investigates if intergenerational equality of opportunity is linked to mortality in 30 European countries. Equality of opportunity may lead to greater returns on health investments and, consequently, improved health outcomes. In turn, a perceived lack of fairness in the distribution of life chances and limited possibilities for upward intergenerational mobility can cause anxiety among individuals and gradually compromise their health.MethodsWe used information on 163 467 individuals’ and their parents’ Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status from a large survey data set—the European Social Survey—to generate three complementary measures of equality of opportunity. We then linked these to administrative data on total, gender-specific and cause-specific mortality rates assembled by Eurostat from the national statistical offices.ResultsWe found that lower equality of opportunity, measured by the attainment of individuals from the lowest and highest quartiles of socioeconomic status and by the overall intergenerational correlation in socioeconomic status, was related to higher mortality rates, particularly in relation to diseases of the nervous system and the sense organs, diseases of the respiratory system and external causes of mortality. Our measures of equality of opportunity were more consistently linked with mortality of men than women.ConclusionEquality of opportunity may be an important explanation of mortality that warrants further research. Measures that aim at facilitating intergenerational social mobility can be justified not only via normative considerations of equality of opportunity but also in terms of individuals’ chances to enjoy healthy lives.