Gender and Educational Attainment Across Generations in Austria

Abstract

In many societies, children' educational attainment is heavily dependent on their parents' education; but that result can differ by the gender of both the parents and the child. Using a Markovian approach, along with uni- and multivariate econometric techniques, this study employs the Austrian Household Survey on Housing Wealth to show strong persistence in educational attainment that differs according to the gender of the parent and child. In Austria, the difference between women' and men' educational attainment has been shrinking over time while educational mobility for both genders has increased. This study finds that controlling for changes in the distribution of educational attainment over time, the relevance of a father' education is generally higher than that of a mother'. Further, Austrian mothers' and fathers' same-gender relationships to their children are stronger than cross-gender relationships of intergenerational educational transmission. These patterns clearly document the importance of gender for analyses of the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment.