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Intergenerational Mobility in Educational and Occupational Attainment

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  • Rajarshi Majumder

    (The author is Reader, Department of Economics, University of Burdwan, Golapbag, Burdwan, West Bengal, India; e-mail: meriju@rediffmail.com)

Abstract

Disparities between social groups transcend the boundary of current generation and perpetuate across future generations as well. This is manifested as low intergenerational mobility in terms of both education and occupation in developing countries in general, and among specific ethnic groups within those countries in particular. This paper examines the extent of intergenerational mobility in both educational and occupational attainments for diverse social groups in India to understand the inertia of disparities prevalent. Results indicate strong intergenerational stickiness in both educational achievement and occupational distribution among the scheduled castes and tribes who have been discriminated against historically. Occupational mobility is lower than educational mobility indicating that educational progress is not being transformed to occupational improvement and bringing up the possibility of discrimination in the labour market. This also brings to the fore the fact that historical social exclusion has had a long-run effect and the inertia is quite strong.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajarshi Majumder, 2010. "Intergenerational Mobility in Educational and Occupational Attainment," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 4(4), pages 463-494, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:mareco:v:4:y:2010:i:4:p:463-494
    DOI: 10.1177/097380101000400404
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    Cited by:

    1. Nanarpuzha, Rajesh & Sarin, Ankur, 2021. "A capability pathway to subjective economic well-being: Looking beyond materialism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 66-76.
    2. Majumder, Rajarshi & Ray, Jhilam, 2016. "Development and Exclusion: Intergenerational Stickiness in India," MPRA Paper 71182, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Anirudh Krishna & Swapnil Agarwal, 2017. "Promoting Social Mobility in India," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 12(3), pages 236-258, December.
    4. Sripad Motiram & Ashish Singh, 2012. "How Close Does the Apple Fall to the Tree?: Some Evidence on Intergenerational Occupational Mobility from India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-101, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Dhiman Das, 2019. "Academic Resilience Among Children from Disadvantaged Social Groups in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 719-739, September.
    6. Azam, Mehtabul, 2013. "Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in India," IZA Discussion Papers 7608, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Malik Muhammad & Muhammad Jamil, 2020. "Intergenerational Mobility in Educational Attainments," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 179-198.
    8. Sandhya R. Mahapatro & Renu Choudhary, 2022. "Intergenerational educational and occupational mobility among scheduled castes in rural Bihar," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 24(1), pages 65-84, June.
    9. Reddy, A. Bheemeshwar & Swaminathan, Madhura, 2014. "Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Rural India: Evidence from Ten Villages," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 4(1), July.
    10. Huo, Yujia & Golley, Jane, 2022. "Intergenerational education transmission in China: The gender dimension," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. Kishan P K V, 2018. "Is the Past Still Holding Us Back? A Study on Intergenerational Education Mobility in India (revised as on 26.09.18)," IIMA Working Papers WP 2018-01-03, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    12. Reddy, A. Bheemeshwar, 2015. "Changes in Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in India: Evidence from National Sample Surveys, 1983–2012," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 329-343.
    13. Anjan R. Chaudhury & Madhabendra Sinha, 2022. "Persistence of intergroup occupational disparity in India," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(4), pages 437-467, December.
    14. Agostino Tarsitano & Rosetta Lombardo, 2011. "An Exhaustive Coefficient Of Rank Correlation," Working Papers 201111, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.
    15. Guo, Yumei & Song, Yang & Chen, Qianmiao, 2019. "Impacts of education policies on intergenerational education mobility in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 124-142.
    16. Nawazuddin Ahmed & Dinesh K. Nauriyal, 2023. "Occupational and Educational Mobility Among Indian Muslims: Primary Survey-Based Evidence," Millennial Asia, , vol. 14(2), pages 228-259, June.
    17. Poulomi Roy & Rilina Basu & Shishir Roy, 2022. "A Socio Economic Perspective of Intergenerational Educational Mobility: Experience in West Bengal," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 20(4), pages 903-929, December.
    18. Anirudh Krishna, 2014. "Examining the Structure of Opportunity and Social Mobility in India: Who Becomes an Engineer?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(1), pages 1-28, January.
    19. Nandi, Tushar Kanti & Kar, Saibal, 2015. "Short-term Migration and Intergenerational Persistence of Industry in Rural India," IZA Discussion Papers 9283, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Tarsitano Agostino & Lombardo Rosetta, 2013. "A Coefficient of Correlation Based on Ratios of Ranks and Anti-ranks," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 233(2), pages 206-224, April.
    21. Sripad Motiram & Ashish Singh, 2012. "How close does the apple fall to the tree? Some evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2012-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    22. Akanksha Choudhary & Ashish Singh, 2017. "Are Daughters Like Mothers: Evidence on Intergenerational Educational Mobility Among Young Females in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 601-621, September.
    23. Ray, Jhilam & Majumder, Rajarshi, 2013. "Structural Change or Social Fluidity? Examining Intergenerational Mobility in Education in India," MPRA Paper 54516, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Nandi, Tushar K., 2013. "Intergenerational Persistence of Industry of Employment in India," MPRA Paper 51281, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational Mobility; Education; Occupational Choice; Social Disparity; India; JEL Classification: I21; JEL Classification: J13; JEL Classification: J24; JEL Classification: J62; JEL Classification: J71; JEL Classification: N35;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East

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