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Intergenerational income persistence

Author

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  • Jo Blanden

    (University of Surrey, and LSE, UK, and IZA Germany)

Abstract

A strong association between incomes across generations—with children from poor families likely to be poor as adults—is frequently considered an indicator of insufficient equality of opportunity. Studies of such “intergenerational persistence,” or lack of intergenerational mobility, are concerned with measuring the strength of the relationship between parents’ socio-economic status and that of their children as adults. However, reliable measurement requires overcoming important data and methodological difficulties. Moreover, the association between equality of opportunity and common measures of intergenerational persistence is not as clear-cut as is often assumed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jo Blanden, 2015. "Intergenerational income persistence," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 176-176, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2015:n:176
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    10. Corak, Miles & Lindquist, Matthew J. & Mazumder, Bhashkar, 2014. "A comparison of upward and downward intergenerational mobility in Canada, Sweden and the United States," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 185-200.
    11. Blanden, Jo, 2013. "Cross-national rankings of intergenerational mobility: a comparison of approaches from economics and sociology," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 59310, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    13. repec:bri:cmpowp:13/332 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Kerris Cooper & Kitty Stewart, 2013. "Does money affect children’s outcomes?," CASE Reports casereport80, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Jörg Paetzold, 2019. "The Intergenerational Causal Effect of Tax Evasion: Evidence from the Commuter Tax Allowance in Austria," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(6), pages 1843-1880.
    2. Jo Blanden & Andrew Eyles & Stephen Machin, 2021. "Trends in Intergenerational Home Ownership and Wealth Transmission," CEPEO Working Paper Series 21-05, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised May 2021.
    3. Temesgen, Yalfal & Ketema, Mengistu & Ademe, Alelign, 2021. "The Existence and Structure of Rural Households’ Income Mobility: Evidence from Panel Data in Ethiopia (2011-2016)," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 30(01), April.
    4. Arden Finn & Murray Leibbrandt & Vimal Ranchhod, 2016. "Patterns of persistence: Intergenerational mobility and education in South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 175, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    5. Inmaculada García-Mainar & Víctor M. Montuenga, 2020. "Occupational Prestige and Fathers’ Influence on Sons and Daughters," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 706-728, December.
    6. Grübl, Dominik & Lackner, Mario & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, 2020. "Intergenerational Transmission of Unemployment - Causal Evidence from Austria," IHS Working Paper Series 14, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    7. van Elk, Roel & Jongen, Egbert L. W. & Koot, Patrick & Zulkarnain, Alice, 2024. "Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants in the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 17035, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Jo Blanden & Andrew Eyles & Stephen Machin, 2023. "Intergenerational home ownership," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(2), pages 251-275, June.
    9. Bubonya, Melisa & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A., 2021. "Pathways of Disadvantage: Unpacking the Intergenerational Correlation in Welfare," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Daniel Reiter & Mario Thomas Palz & Margareta Kreimer, 2020. "Intergenerational transmission of economic success in Austria with a focus on migration and gender," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 54(1), pages 1-20, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational income mobility; equality of opportunity; data quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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