Intergenerational Occupational Mobility Research Articles

The same social elevator? Intergenerational class mobility of second-generation immigrants across Europe

Abstract Ethnicity and social class are two of the main axes stratifying life chances in developed societies. Nevertheless, knowledge of the integration of ethnic minorities into the pattern of class reproduction remains incipient as evidence stems mostly from studies concentrating on specific ethnicities or single host countries. This article advances this knowledge by providing a comparative perspective on the intergenerational occupational mobility of second-generation immigrants and the majority population across 26 European countries. Drawing on pooled data from the European Social Survey (2004–2018), the article demonstrates that ethnic penalties arise for employment and occupational mobility in many countries, however, with crucial differences across and—to a smaller extent—within major country groups. Across countries, ethnic barriers for the second generation are connected to their social integration in the host society and the composition of the first migrant generation, emphasizing the importance of familial and social support for social advancement. By contrast, I detect no link between anti-immigration norms and ethnic penalties, and only mixed evidence for the role of integration policy. The article concludes that ‘ethnicity matters’ in many European societies, even if ethnic cleavages vary according to the composition of migrant populations and the context in the host society.

Unpacking Caste and Intergenerational Occupational Mobility: A Novel Approach Through Occupational Prestige in West Bengal, India

This research rekindles the examination of occupational mobility through the lens of occupational prestige, contributing significantly to the discourse on intergenerational occupational mobility in West Bengal. Employing robust statistical techniques including conditional probability matrices, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and structural equation modelling (SEM), the study shows the profound influence of caste on occupational mobility. It found that intergenerational mobility rates significantly differ among caste groups, with the general caste (GC) category consistently displaying higher upwards mobility compared to the other backward classes (OBCs) and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes (SCs/STs). Furthermore, the research highlights caste-based variations in the impact of a son’s educational attainment on the son’s occupational success.

Moving up the ladder: the spatial determinants of intergenerational occupational mobility in rural India

AbstractIn this study, we examine the “geography of mobility” for rural India. We study the spatial determinants of intergenerational occupational mobility across villages in India. Using a nationally representative data set—the Indian Human Development Survey of 2011–2012, which has detailed information on the occupations of fathers and sons as well as data on village-level covariates, we find clear effects of village-level factors in explaining intergenerational occupational mobility. The remoteness of the village, its agro-ecological and climactic conditions, infrastructural public goods and its economic prosperity are important correlates of whether the son is less likely to follow his parent’s occupation in the village.

Intergenerational occupational mobility in Latin American economies: An empirical approach

Identifying the determinants of intergenerational mobility is an important aim in the development literature. In this article, we examine intergenerational transmission for 6 neglected Latin American Economies (Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico). We use a multinomial logit model of the determinants of choosing a white-collar job for the child of a father working in farming as compared to a child whose father had a blue- or white-collar job. We find that, in the studied countries, intergenerational occupation transmission is mainly linked to low skilled jobs. Our analysis confirms the low degree of social mobility typical of Latin America, in turn contributing to explaining the low growth rate. Our findings help identify specific target groups – talented young women coming from the agricultural sector – for developing soft skills while at primary or low secondary school and work-related skills while at high secondary school or university.

Artificial intelligence and intergenerational occupational mobility

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a huge impact on economic development, while the literature focuses on the effect of AI on employment, and little is known about the impact of AI on intergenerational occupational mobility. Using a large, representative survey of individual-level data from the CGSS database, this paper presents novel evidence on the effect of AI on intergenerational occupational mobility. The results indicate that AI significantly increases intergenerational occupational mobility and induces more upward mobility, which stems from AI-induced demand for more high-skilled labors and changes in occupational task attributes. Furthermore, the effect of AI is heterogeneous for different groups in cognitive ability, family economic conditions, paternal educational attainment, and paternal occupational type.

Structural Change, Services Sector and Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in India: Some Exploratory Evidence

This study investigates into intergenerational occupational mobility of Indian workers towards and within service sectors during globalization. In particular, such mobility of workers is observed in the presence of structural shift of the economy towards service industry, especially towards service trade, and explores whether there is intergenerational mobility towards services and more ­skill-oriented occupations in India during 1999–2011. The Altham measure of relative mobility is applied on the National Sample Survey Organization employment–unemployment survey database to measure the degree of association between occupational choice of fathers and co-resident sons in urban India. An upward mobility among sons is observed between 1999–2000 and 2011–2012. JEL Codes: F14, F16, J62, L80, C46

Occupational mobility: theory and estimation for Italy

This paper presents a model considering intergenerational occupational mobility as the joint outcome of three main determinants: income incentives, equality of opportunity and changes in the composition of occupations. The model, rationalising the use of transition matrices to measure occupational mobility, allows for identifying asymmetric mobility patterns and constructing a specific mobility index for each determinant. The empirical application of our model to Italy suggests that intergenerational mobility increased from the cohort of children born in the period 1940-1951 to the one born in the period 1952-1965, then to remain at the same level for the cohort of children born in the period 1966-1977. This steady mobility, however, hides i) lower structural mobility, caused by a declining trend in the composition of occupations in favour of upper-middle classes; ii) less upward mobility for those whose fathers were in the lower class; and iii) higher downward mobility from upper-middle classes, both caused by a decrease in the income incentives. Equality of opportunity is low and constant for those born after 1951.

Social Mobility in Sweden before the Welfare State

We use historical census data to show that Sweden exhibited high levels of intergenerational occupational mobility several decades before the rise of the welfare state. Mobility rates were higher than in other nineteenth- and twentieth-century European countries, closer to those observed in the highly mobile nineteenth-century United States. We leverage mobility variation across Swedish municipalities to shed light on potential determinants: economic growth and migration are positively correlated with mobility, consistent with the patterns observed across countries.

Occupational Mobility and Chronic Health Conditions in Middle and Later Life: A Systematic Review.

Occupational mobility at various stages in the life course may have a cumulative impact on health outcomes and trajectory. This study aims to (1) systematically review empirical evidence regarding the impact of intergenerational and intra-generational occupational mobility on chronic health conditions in middle and later life; and (2) assess the collective evidence on the health consequences of different types of occupational mobility. A systematic review of literature was carried out by searching three databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and SocINDEX) and the reference lists. Eligible studies examined the impact of occupational mobility on at least one chronic health condition among adults aged 35years or above. The quality of each included study was assessed by standardized tools. Out of 170 identified publications, 16 studies based on 12 independent data sets met the inclusion criteria. There is moderately strong evidence that downward intergenerational occupational mobility and stable low occupational status across generations were associated with worse chronic health conditions. The relationships to chronic health conditions were more pronounced for intergenerational occupational mobility than for intra-generational occupational mobility. Gender differences were observed in the relationship between occupational mobility and health. Career advancement interventions should target both the career starters and older employees. More generous unemployment insurance systems are suggested in less egalitarian countries, especially during economic recession periods. Future studies of occupational mobility should give more attention to women and people from developing and Eastern countries.

Intergenerational Mobility in a Mid-Atlantic Economy: Canada, 1871–1901

This article uses new linked full-count census data for Canada to document intergenerational occupational mobility from 1871 to 1901. We find significant differences among Canadian regions and language groups, with linguistic minorities experiencing notably lower rates of intergenerational mobility. International comparisons place Canada midway between other economies in the Americas and the most mobile European societies. Decompositions of overall mobility show that the Canadian experience shared the New World feature of high mobility from manual occupations, but also the Old World feature of greater persistence in white-collar jobs.

Height, occupation, and intergenerational mobility: an instrumental variable analysis of Dutch men, birth years 1850-1900

ABSTRACT Height and labor market outcomes appear to be related to one another. The taller people are, the more likely they are to have better jobs and to earn more money. This is especially the case for men. However, whether height is causally related to labor market outcomes is an open question, which instrumental variable (IV) analysis may help to answer. To our knowledge, no study has yet used IV analysis to test these relationships in a historical context. The present study addressed this gap, by examining height’s relationship to occupational status and intergenerational mobility in a sample of Dutch men, birth years 1850 through 1900. Data were drawn from: the Historical Sample of the Netherlands, providing life course information on the research person; the Heights and Life Courses Database, providing information on the research person’s height at conscription; and the Male Kin Height Database, providing information on the average height of the research person’s full brothers. This combination of data sources yielded a sample of 1,465 men. Height z-score’s relationships to occupational status (characterized as HISCAM score), and to intergenerational mobility (characterized as the difference between research person’s HISCAM score and father’s HISCAM score) were examined. The average of brothers’ heights z-score was used as an instrumental variable. In terms of results, one standard deviation increase in height was associated with a 1.370 increase in HISCAM score (95% CI: 0.310–2.429), and a 1.127 increase in intergenerational mobility score (95% CI: −0.114–2.368). As Dutch men were growing taller and had greater abilities to choose their occupations, it appeared that tallness was associated with a better job, and increased intergenerational occupational mobility. This study thus offered preliminary evidence that height and labor market outcomes were perhaps causally related during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Intergenerational Occupational Mobility, Labor Migration and Sustained Demographic Dividends

Based on the 1% sample survey of the National Population Census (2015), this paper empirically analyzes the impact of intergenerational occupational mobility levels on labor migration in terms of push and pull factors. We found that increasing the degree of intergenerational occupational mobility has a significant “agglomeration effect” on registered and mobile labor: reducing the emigration willingness of household registered labor and increasing the immigration probability of labor from cities with a lower degree of intergenerational occupational mobility. Labor migration generally occurs from cities with lower intergenerational occupational mobility to cities with a higher degree of intergenerational occupational mobility. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the agglomeration effect of a city on native labor is insignificant in east, northwest and northeast China. Rural laborers, highly educated laborers and rural laborers with high education levels are more likely to move from their registered cities. The mechanism analysis finds that improving the city’s comprehensive economic incremental competitiveness will enhance the city’s agglomeration effect on native labor, while increasing the degree of educational returns will strengthen the city’s agglomeration effect on mobile labor from cities with a lower degree of intergenerational mobility. Moreover, after using IV-probit, IV-2SLS and heteroscedasticity-based IVs to deal with endogenous problems, the above conclusions are still robust. Our findings may contribute to realizing sustained demographic dividends through internal migration.

Intergenerational educational and occupational mobility among scheduled castes in rural Bihar

Intergenerational educational and occupational mobility among scheduled castes in rural Bihar

Trends in social mobility in postrevolution China

In this paper, we study long-term trends in social mobility in the People's Republic of China since its inception in 1949, with two operationalizations: 1) intergenerational occupational mobility and 2) intergenerational educational mobility. We draw on an accumulation of administrative and survey data and provide comparable estimates of these measures for birth cohorts born after 1945. To help interpret the results, we compare trends in China to those in the United States for the same birth cohorts. We find an increase in intergenerational occupational mobility in China due to its rapid industrialization in recent decades. Net of industrialization, however, intergenerational occupational mobility has been declining for recent cohorts. Intergenerational educational mobility in China shows a similar declining trend. In addition, mobility patterns have differed greatly by gender, with women in earlier cohorts and from a rural origin particularly disadvantaged. We attribute the general decline in social mobility to market forces that have taken hold since China's economic reform that began in 1978. In contrast, social mobility by both measures has been relatively stable in the United States. However, while social mobility in China has trended downward, it is still higher than that in the United States, except for women's educational mobility.

Occupational Mobility in Farming Sector: An Analysis in Coastal and Tribal Districts of Odisha, India

The continuous migration of Indian rural youth from farming to the non-farming sector has caused concern among the policy makers. If not checked, it is likely to affect the future agricultural activities and thereby future agrarian economy. Present research was carried out during 2020 with a comparative analysis among the respondents of the coastal district (Jagatsinghpur) and tribal district (Mayurbhanj) of Odisha with a randomly chosen sample of 480 respondents, 240 from each district including 120 each from the first-generation (father) and second-generation (son). The study aimed to find out prevalence of intergenerational occupational mobility in farming sector by using transition probability matrix to describe the pattern of mobility and direction of their movement. A statistically significant difference was found between occupations of the first and second generation in both tribal and coastal districts with hhigher occupational mobility in the coastal district. The coastal district showed a 19.17 per cent decrease in the numbers of farmers than the tribal district. The result showed 49 per cent and 62 per cent of absolute mobility rates in intergenerational occupation in tribal and coastal districts, respectively. There was prevalence of both upward and downward mobility in occupation in the farming sector in both tribal and coastal districts of Odisha.

Enhanced Intergenerational Occupational Mobility Through Trade Expansion: Evidence from Vietnam

Enhanced Intergenerational Occupational Mobility Through Trade Expansion: Evidence from Vietnam

Intergenerational occupational mobility in India across social groups

Intergenerational occupational mobility in India across social groups

The Dynamics of Occupational Mobility and Household Well-Being in Rural Bangladesh

Occupational mobility or moving up a career ladder are typically considered to be an welcome phenomenon for the workers. There are ample literatures on occupational mobility across generation in the context of developed countries but there only very limited studies exploring the dynamics of intergenerational occupational mobility in the context of developing countries, particularly in the context of Bangladesh because of limited sources of data on the subject. However, occupational choice of the households significantly affects household well-being in various ways. The occupation of the household significantly affects household income, food security, and child well-being of the households. This warrants a rigorous investigation into the dynamics of occupational mobility and its effect on household well-being in the developing countries like Bangladesh. This research, in this context, explores intergenerational occupational mobility in Bangladesh and its effect on household well-being. The empirical regression results show that occupational mobility and more specifically moving up in the occupational ladder enhances food security and child literacy, while occupational mobility also has significant effect in reducing child malnutrition in the survey area. Food security, child literacy and improvement in malnutrition are also positively affected by respondent’s occupational level, level of education, number of household members engaged in income generating activities, land owned by the respondents, NGO membership, benefits from social safety nets, and training in income generating activities. Our results, thus, offer important policy implication.

Hard and Invisible Bricks in the Wall: An Empirical Investigation on Gender, Caste, and Health Among Migrant Brick Workers in South India

The current cross-sectional study is on the pathetic and excruciating conditions of employees in the brick industry conducted using a mixed-method approach in selected kilns from the four Districts of Karnataka State, South India. India is the country producing the highest number of bricks after China. Economic coercion is pushing the massive poor, especially the women labourers to engage in hard physical labour to survive. This study has explored that labourers in the brick industry are being exploited and excluded in voluminous ways. Caste plays a predominant role while hiring, wage fixation, and assigning the job at kilns. Women labour is being devalued in the name of the traditional and irrational social construction of gender. Sexual exploitations, low payment, restless work, harassment, absence of labour laws, are common here. It is found that rigid intergenerational occupational mobility into unorganised sectors among lower-caste people, as well as intra/intra-community social networks, among brick workers, are being called into question. We conclude that this is the time to think about the ‘National Register of Interstate Migrants’ and ‘National Mission to the Brick Industry’ in the context of the post-economic situation of COVID-19.

Occupational and Educational Mobility Among Indian Muslims: Primary Survey-Based Evidence

Based on information obtained from 590 father–son pairs as part of the primary survey, this article discusses the issue of occupational and educational mobility among Indian Muslims. Intergenerational occupational and educational mobility and aggregate mobility measures have been analysed using mobility matrices. It uses a linear regression for education mobility and a multinomial logit model for occupational mobility to analyse the potential variables that are likely to influence sample households’ educational and occupational choices. The key finding is that educational mobility is much greater than occupational mobility and that half of the sons adhere to their fathers’ occupational categories. The results further show that the father’s occupation has a strong influence on the son’s educational achievement. It is recommended that the home, societal, peer pressure and the surroundings all be used to improve the educational outcome of the children. This study exhibits that Muslims’ perceptions of discrimination are substantially higher than their actual experiences, which stress the need for significantly improving communication between the government, NGOs, political parties and Muslim community leaders.