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Educational Inheritance and the Distribution of Occupations: Evidence from South Africa

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  • Malcolm Keswell
  • Sarah Girdwood
  • Murray Leibbrandt

Abstract

We analyse the role of educational opportunity in shaping inequality in the distribution of occupations in the long-run. We start by modelling the probability that a child occupies the same or a different rung on the occupational ladder as her parents controlling for both the educational attainment of the child, as well as the level of educational opportunity of the child. These conditional probabilities are then used to construct separate transition matrices by level of educational opportunity, race and gender, which in turn are used to the compute the steady-state distribution of occupations. Finally, we use the timing of political events in the history of the struggle to end Apartheid to devise an identification strategy that permits a causal interpretation of the role of educational opportunity. We find evidence that educational opportunity has a strong conditioning effect on the distribution of occupations in steady state. In particular, African female children who inherit the same level of educational opportunity as their parents are 9% more likely to be in the bottom of the occupation distribution in steady-state, than the observed rate for the population at large, whereas they would face a 4% lower probability if they were exposed to better educational opportunities.
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Suggested Citation

  • Malcolm Keswell & Sarah Girdwood & Murray Leibbrandt, 2013. "Educational Inheritance and the Distribution of Occupations: Evidence from South Africa," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59, pages 111-137, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:59:y:2013:i::p:s111-s137
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    1. A.B. Atkinson & F. Bourguignon (ed.), 2000. "Handbook of Income Distribution," Handbook of Income Distribution, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    2. Oded Galor & Joseph Zeira, 1993. "Income Distribution and Macroeconomics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(1), pages 35-52.
    3. Thomas, Duncan, 1996. "Education across Generations in South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 330-334, May.
    4. Megan Louw & Servaas Van Der Berg & Derek Yu, 2007. "Convergence Of A Kind: Educational Attainment And Intergenerational Social Mobility In South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 75(3), pages 548-571, September.
    5. Banerjee, Abhijit V & Newman, Andrew F, 1993. "Occupational Choice and the Process of Development," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(2), pages 274-298, April.
    6. Megan Louw & Servaas van der Berg & Derek Yu, 2006. "Educational attainment and intergenerational social mobility in South Africa," Working Papers 09/2006, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    7. Murray Leibbrandt & Ingrid Woolard & Arden Finn & Jonathan Argent, 2010. "Trends in South African Income Distribution and Poverty since the Fall of Apartheid," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 101, OECD Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Gradín, 2019. "Occupational segregation by race in South Africa after apartheid," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 553-576, May.
    2. 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.
    3. Ivan Turok & Josh Budlender & Justin Visagie, 2017. "The Role of Informal Urban Settlements in Upward Mobility," Working Papers 201701, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    4. UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa & Shantanu Mukherjee & Angela Lusigi & Eunice Kamwendo & Astra Bonini, "undated". "Inequality, Gender and Human Development in Africa," UNDP Africa Policy Notes 2017-12, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa.
    5. Stephan Klasen & Derek Blades, 2013. "Issues and Challenges in Measuring National Income, Wealth, Poverty, and Inequality in Sub-Saharan African Countries: An Introduction," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59, pages 1-8, October.
    6. repec:rac:ecchap:2017-12 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Mukherjee, Shantanu & Lusigi, Angela & Kamwendo, Eunice & Bonini, Astra, "undated". "Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, determinants and consequences: Inequality, Gender and Human Development in Africa," UNDP Africa Reports 267647, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    8. Carlos Gradín, 2019. "Occupational segregation by race in South Africa after apartheid," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 553-576, May.
    9. Ivan Turok & Joshua Budlender & Justin Visagie, 2018. "Urban “slums” and social mobility," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(6), pages 703-725, October.
    10. Ivan Turok & Jackie Borel-Saladin, 2018. "The theory and reality of urban slums: Pathways-out-of-poverty or cul-de-sacs?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(4), pages 767-789, March.

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