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The Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty in High-Income Countries

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  • Parolin, Zachary

    (Columbia University)

  • Schmitt, Rafael Pintro
  • Esping-Andersen, Gosta
  • Fallesen, Peter

    (ROCKWOOL Foundation)

Abstract

Exposure to childhood poverty increases the likelihood of adult poverty. However, past research offers conflicting accounts of cross-national variation in the strength of the intergenerational persistence of poverty and the mechanisms through which it is channeled. This study investigates differences in intergenerational poverty in the United States (U.S.), Australia, Denmark, Germany, and United Kingdom (UK) using administrative- and survey-based panel datasets. We introduce a framework to decompose intergenerational poverty into family background effects, mediation effects, tax/transfer insurance effects, and a residual poverty penalty. Intergenerational poverty in the U.S. is four times stronger than in Denmark and Germany, and twice as strong as in Australia and the UK. Intergenerational poverty in Denmark is primarily channeled through family background effects, but persists in the UK and Germany through mediators such as adult education and employment. The U.S. disadvantage is not channeled through family background, mediators, neighborhood effects, or racial/ethnic discrimination. Instead, the U.S. has comparatively weak tax/transfer insurance effects and a more severe residual poverty penalty. Should the U.S. adopt the tax/transfer insurance effects of peer countries, its intergenerational poverty persistence could decline by more than one-third. The study offers a foundation for renewed research on the intergenerational persistence of poverty in high-income countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Parolin, Zachary & Schmitt, Rafael Pintro & Esping-Andersen, Gosta & Fallesen, Peter, 2023. "The Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty in High-Income Countries," OSF Preprints tb3qz, Center for Open Science.
  • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:tb3qz
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/tb3qz
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth A. Couch & Thomas A. Dunn, 1997. "Intergenerational Correlations in Labor Market Status: A Comparison of the United States and Germany," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(1), pages 210-232.
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    5. Deirdre Bloome, 2017. "Childhood Family Structure and Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 541-569, April.
    6. Nolan, Brian & Whelan, Christopher T., 2011. "Poverty and Deprivation in Europe," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199588435.
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    Cited by:

    1. Carranza, Rafael & Nolan, Brian & Bavaro, Michele, 2023. "Intergenerational Poverty Persistence in Europe - Is There a 'Great Gatsby Curve' for Poverty?," INET Oxford Working Papers 2023-22, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, revised Dec 2023.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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