Persistence Of Educational Attainment Research Articles

Do Grandparents Matter? Multigenerational Mobility in the United States, 1940–2015

We assess the biases induced by measurement error in a study of correlations in educational attainment across two and three generations in the United States using linked data spanning 1940–2015. Although multigenerational regressions show an economically meaningful “grandparent effect,” we find that this effect is overstated and likely not statistically or economically significant after we correct for measurement error. However, that same measurement error means that inferences derived using only two generations of data understate persistence in educational attainment by roughly 20%. We find an 18% decline in the intergenerational correlation of educational attainment over the twentieth century.

Long-Term Evolution of Inequality of Opportunity

The main goal of this paper is to document and analyze the long-term evolution of inequality of opportunity (IOp) in the four largest European economies (France, Germany, Great Britain and Italy). Relative IOp represents an important portion of total income inequality, with values ranging from 30 to 50 percent according to the standard deviation of logs. For all the countries, relative IOp shows a stable or declining time trend. In addition to these descriptive findings, the paper proposes a theoretical framework identifying channels of transmission which may affect IOp. Using this framework, a decomposition focuses on the role of three variables: a) intergenerational persistence in educational attainment, b) return of education, and c) networking activity of parents. While the first two variables exhibit a declining trend in all countries, which as predicted by the model should produce a decline in IOp, the third one appears to be rising in some countries, counteracting the effects of the first twoKeywords: Inequality of Opportunity, Decomposition methods, Education mobility, Returns to Education, Family Networking, Cohort Analysis

The Intergenerational Persistence of Human Capital: An Empirical Analysis of Four Generations

Most previous studies of intergenerational transmission of human capital are restricted to two generations – parents and their children. In this study we use a Swedish data set which enables us link individual measures of lifetime earnings for three generations and data on educational attainments of four generations. We investigate to what extent estimates based on income data from two generations accurately predicts earnings persistence beyond two generations. We also do a similar analysis for intergenerational persistence in educational attainments. We find two-generation studies to severely under-predict intergenerational persistence in earnings and educational attainment over three generations. Finally, we use our multigenerational data on educational attainment to estimate the structural parameters in the Becker-Tomes model. Our results suggest a small or no causal effect of parental education on children's educational attainment.

Gender and Educational Attainment Across Generations in Austria

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.

Intergenerational Wealth Mobility in Rural Bangladesh

Unique residential history data with retrospective information on parental assets are used to study household wealth mobility in 141 villages in rural Bangladesh. Regression estimates of father–son correlations and analyses of intergenerational transition matrices show substantial persistence in wealth even when we correct for measurement errors in parental wealth. We do not find wealth mobility to be higher between periods of a person's life than between generations. We find that the process of household division plays an important role: sons who splinter off from the father's household experience greater (albeit downward) mobility in wealth. Despite significant occupational mobility across generations, its contribution to wealth mobility, net of human capital attainment of individuals, appears insignificant. Low wealth mobility in our data is primarily explained by intergenerational persistence in educational attainment.

Intergenerational transmission of educational attainment in Austria

Up to now, there exist several studies documenting the educational expansion in Austria in the 20th century but only few studies measureing the degree of persistence of educational attainment over generations. Furthermore, for Austria there are no internationally comparable persistence-measures of educational attainment available. This study aims to fill this gap and delivers key-measures for intergenerational persistence of educational attainment. The Austrian Household Survey on Housing Wealth includes information on socioeconomic characteristics of respondents and their parents. The results demonstrate strong persistence in educational attainment in Austria. Using uni- as well as multivariate econometric techniques and a Markovian approach we show that educational persistence decreased over time. Overall, Austria ranks third in terms of intergenerational educational attainment persistence among a number of european countries and the US. Our results therefore allow to question the significance of meritocratic values and equal opportunity for educational advancement in the Austrian society compared to other European countries and the USA.

Intergenerational Persistence in Educational Attainment in Italy

In this paper we show that there is a reduction in the correlation coefficient between father and children schooling levels over time in Italy. However, focusing on equality of circumstances, we show that there is still a persistent difference in the odds of attaining a college degree between children of college educated parents and children of parents with lower secondary education attainment. The explanation of these trends lies in differential impact of liquidity constraints and risk aversion. Some descriptive evidence on the persistent differential in returns to college education depending on father’s education is also provided.