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Intergenerational Educational and Earnings Mobilities Trends in the U.S. since the 60s

Author

Listed:
  • Jhon Gonzalez

    (GAINS - Groupe d'Analyse des Itinéraires et des Niveaux Salariaux - UM - Le Mans Université)

  • François Langot

    (GAINS - Groupe d'Analyse des Itinéraires et des Niveaux Salariaux - UM - Le Mans Université, IUF - Institut universitaire de France - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit - Institute of Labor Economics)

Abstract

Since the 80s in the U.S., we show that there are more upward mobilities (i) in educational attainment, and (ii) in earnings. But, we also show that rank-rank correlation between children and parents earnings is stable across cohorts, thus suggesting that the rise in upward earning mobility is driven by a larger shift in inequalities within parents earnings than within children earnings. We also show that the impact of the income rank of parents with no college degree is very low on the earnings rank of their children, the income differences between parents with no college degree being not relevant in explaining the income positions of their children. For children of parents graduated from college, a high parental income allows them to insure against intergenerational income fall, thus generating a correlation between the income of the parents and that of their children.

Suggested Citation

  • Jhon Gonzalez & François Langot, 2022. "Intergenerational Educational and Earnings Mobilities Trends in the U.S. since the 60s," Working Papers hal-03784447, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03784447
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://univ-lemans.hal.science/hal-03784447v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Maggie R Jones & Sonya R Porter, 2020. "Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States: an Intergenerational Perspective [“Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants in the US Over Two Centuries,”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 711-783.
    2. Miles Corak, 2013. "Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(3), pages 79-102, Summer.
    3. Alberto Alesina & Stefanie Stantcheva & Edoardo Teso, 2018. "Intergenerational Mobility and Preferences for Redistribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(2), pages 521-554, February.
    4. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Patrick Kline & Emmanuel Saez, 2014. "Where is the land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(4), pages 1553-1623.
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