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Intergenerational Mobility and Assortative Mating. Effects of an Educational Reform

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Author Info
Holmlund, Helena (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University)
Abstract

This paper provides new evidence on the role of the educational system for intergenerational mobility. I evaluate an educational reform, implemented in Sweden in the 1950s, which postponed ability tracking and extended compulsory education from seven to nine years. The reform may have influenced intergenerational mobility by several different mechanisms. First, there is the possibility of a direct effect of extending compulsory education. Second, the age at which ability tracking takes place can be crucial for the educational choice. In particular, the earlier the tracking, the more likely it is that the schooling decision is made by the parents. Third, recognizing that economic well-being is determined by the income of the household, assortative mating plays a major role in the mobility process. I argue that the peer group in which couples form can be affected by the educational system, and evaluate how the reform affects intergenerational mobility through changes in assortative mating. Differences-indifferences estimates and sibling-difference estimates indicate that the reform indeed resulted in a sizeable increase in intergenerational income mobility, and in a lower educational association between children and parents. The reform also contributed to reducing the association in education between an individual’s partner and parents, which I interpret as an effect operating through reform effects on mating patterns.

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Paper provided by Swedish Institute for Social Research in its series Working Paper Series with number 4/2006.

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Length: 54 pages
Date of creation: 10 May 2006
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Handle: RePEc:hhs:sofiwp:2006_004

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  2. Osterberg, Torun, 2000. "Intergenerational Income Mobility in Sweden: What Do Tax-Data Show?," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(4), pages 421-36, December.
  3. Blanden, Joanne, 2005. "Love and Money: Intergenerational Mobility and Marital Matching on Parental Income," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2005272e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch. [Downloadable!]
  4. Bauer, Philipp & Riphahn, Regina T., 2006. "Timing of school tracking as a determinant of intergenerational transmission of education," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 90-97, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Becker, Gary S & Tomes, Nigel, 1986. "Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(3), pages S1-39, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Anders Bohlmark & Matthew J. Lindquist, 2006. "Life-Cycle Variations in the Association between Current and Lifetime Income: Replication and Extension for Sweden," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(4), pages 879-900, October. [Downloadable!]
  7. Christian Dustmann, 2004. "Parental background, secondary school track choice, and wages," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(2), pages 209-230, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Lam, David & Schoeni, Robert F, 1993. "Effects of Family Background on Earnings and Returns to Schooling: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(4), pages 710-40, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Hirvonen, Lalaina, 2006. "Intergenerational Earnings Mobility Among Daughters and Sons: Evidence from Sweden and a Comparison with the United States," Working Paper Series 5/2006, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
  10. Bjorklund, Anders & Jantti, Markus, 1997. "Intergenerational Income Mobility in Sweden Compared to the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(5), pages 1009-18, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Lindahl, Lena, 2002. "Do birth order and family size matter for intergenerational income mobility? Evidence from Sweden," Working Paper Series 5/2002, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
  12. John Ermisch & Marco Francesconi & Thomas Siedler, 2004. "Intergenerational Economic Mobility and Assortative Mating," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 448, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Steven Haider & Gary Solon, 2006. "Life-Cycle Variation in the Association between Current and Lifetime Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(4), pages 1308-1320, September.
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  14. Lam, D. & Schoeni, R.F., 1995. "Family Ties and Labor Markets in the United States and Brazil," Papers 95-04, RAND - Reprint Series.
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  15. Laura Chadwick & Gary Solon, 2002. "Intergenerational Income Mobility among Daughters," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 335-344, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Becker, Gary S & Tomes, Nigel, 1979. "An Equilibrium Theory of the Distribution of Income and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1153-89, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Costas Meghir & Marten Palme, 2005. "Educational Reform, Ability, and Family Background," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 414-424, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Wössmann, 2006. "Does Educational Tracking Affect Performance and Inequality? Differences- in-Differences Evidence Across Countries," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(510), pages C63-C76, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Diego Restuccia & Carlos Urrutia, 2004. "Intergenerational Persistence of Earnings: The Role of Early and College Education," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(5), pages 1354-1378, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Oddbjørn Raaum & Bernt Bratsberg & Knut Røed & Eva Österbacka & Tor Eriksson & Markus Jäntti & Robin Naylor, 2008. "Marital Sorting, Household Labor Supply, and Intergenerational Earnings Mobility across Countries," Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 7(2), pages 1767-1767. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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