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Are the Kids All Right? Intergenerational Mobility and Child Well-being in Canada

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  • Corak, Miles

Abstract

A framework for thinking about intergenerational mobility as it relates to the relationship between parent and child incomes as well as evidence on the degree and sources of intergenerational mobility in Canada is reviewed. The major conclusion is that Canadian society is characterized by a good deal of intergenerational mobility, and the available evidence suggests that being raised in low-income does not pre-ordain children to low-income in adulthood. Canada compares well in this regard to many other countries, being characterized on average by more mobility than the U.S. or U.K. and on a par with some of the most mobile nations. The sources for this pattern have to do with access to high quality education, and high quality non-monetary investments in children. However, there is no clear evidence linking the level of family income to the nature of these investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Corak, Miles, 2001. "Are the Kids All Right? Intergenerational Mobility and Child Well-being in Canada," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2001171e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    • Handle: RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2001171e
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    File URL: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/11F0019M2001171
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    as
    1. Miles Corak & Andrew Heisz, 1999. "The Intergenerational Earnings and Income Mobility of Canadian Men: Evidence from Longitudinal Income Tax Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(3), pages 504-533.
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    11. Miles Corak & Andrew Heisz, 1999. "The Intergenerational Earnings and Income Mobility of Canadian Men: Evidence from Longitudinal Income Tax Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(3), pages 504-533.
    12. Anders Björklund & Markus Jäntti, 2000. "Intergenerational mobility of socio-economic status in comparative perspective," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 26, pages 3-32.
    13. Heisz, Andrew & Corak, Miles, 1996. "The Intergenerational Income Mobility of Canadian Men," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 1996089e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    14. Janet Currie, 2000. "Early Childhood Intervention Programs: What Do We Know?," JCPR Working Papers 169, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
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    Cited by:

    1. Brian Nolan, 2012. "GINI DP 46: Analysing Intergenerational Influences on Income Poverty and Economic Vulnerability with EU-SILC," GINI Discussion Papers 46, AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
    2. Miles Corak, 2006. "Do Poor Children Become Poor Adults? Lessons from a Cross-Country Comparison of Generational Earnings Mobility," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Dynamics of Inequality and Poverty, pages 143-188, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. John Micklewright, 2003. "Child Poverty in English-Speaking Countries," Papers inwopa03/25, Innocenti Working Papers, revised 2003.
    4. Marx, Ive & Nolan, Brian & Olivera, Javier, 2014. "The Welfare State and Anti-Poverty Policy in Rich Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 8154, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Miles Corak, 2001. "Are the Kids All Right? Intergenerational Mobility and Child Well-being in Canada," The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress, in: Andrew Sharpe, Executive Director & France St-Hilaire, Vice-President , Research & Keith Banting, Di (ed.), The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress 2001: The Longest Decade: Canada in the 1990s, volume 1, Centre for the Study of Living Standards;The Institutute for Research on Public Policy.
    6. Aydede Yigit, 2020. "Assortative preferences in choice of major," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, March.
    7. Pascual, Marta, 2009. "Intergenerational income mobility: The transmission of socio-economic status in Spain," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 835-846, November.
    8. Paul Contoyannis & Martin Dooley, 2010. "The role of child health and economic status in educational, health, and labour market outcomes in young adulthood," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 323-346, February.
    9. Blanden, Jo & Goodman, Alissa & Gregg, Paul & Machin, Stephen, 2002. "Changes in intergenerational mobility in Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19507, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Miles Corak, 2016. "`Inequality is the root of social evil,' or Maybe Not? Two Stories about Inequality and Public Policy," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 42(4), pages 367-414, December.
    11. Anh Nguyen & Getinet Haile & Jim Taylor, 2005. "Ethnic And Gender Differences In Intergenerational Mobility: A Study Of 26‐Year‐Olds In The Usa," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 52(4), pages 544-564, September.
    12. Hou, Feng & Ram, Bali & Abada, Teresa, 2008. "Group Differences in Educational Attainment Among the Children of Immigrants," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2008308e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    13. Nguyen, Anh & Getinet, Haile, 2003. "Intergenerational mobility in educational and occupational status: evidence from the U.S," MPRA Paper 1383, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Catherine Deri-Armstrong, 2009. "The Long-term Effects of Maternal Employment on Daughters’ Later Labour Force Participation and Earnings," Working Papers 0914E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    15. Vinodrai, Tara, 2001. "A Tale of Three Cities: The Dynamics of Manufacturing in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, 1976-1997," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2001177e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    16. Chen, Wen-Hao & Ostrovsky, Yuri & Piraino, Patrizio, 2017. "Lifecycle variation, errors-in-variables bias and nonlinearities in intergenerational income transmission: new evidence from Canada," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-12.
    17. repec:aia:ginidp:dp46 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Honge Gong & Andrew Leigh & Xin Meng, 2012. "Intergenerational Income Mobility In Urban China," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 58(3), pages 481-503, September.
    19. Haile, Getinet Astatike, 2016. "Intergenerational Mobility in Income and Economic Status in Ethiopia," IZA Discussion Papers 10047, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Brown, W. Mark & Vinodrai, Tara & Baldwin, John R., 2001. "Dynamics of the Canadian Manufacturing Sector in Metropolitan and Rural Regions," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2001169e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Children and youth; Families; households and housing; Family history; Health and well-being (youth); Income; pensions; spending and wealth; Low income and inequality; Low income families;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E64 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Incomes Policy; Price Policy
    • O51 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - U.S.; Canada

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