Intergenerational Mobility in Education: Estimates of the Worldwide Variation

This paper uses the recently published “Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility” to present a detailed picture of the chances of such mobility around the world. The empirical results obtained from transition matrices and linear regression models, being furthermore based on harmonized data for the education attainments of children and their parents across 148 countries worldwide, point to three main conclusions: First, the likelihood of attaining intergenerational mobility differs widely across countries and world regions. Second, intergenerational persistence in education level is particularly strong in least-developed countries. Third and finally, and perhaps most importantly, the mobility gap between rich and poor countries has increased over time.