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American geography of opportunity reveals European origins

Author

Listed:
  • Thor Berger

    (Department of Economic History, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, SE-223 63 Lund, Sweden; Centre for Economic Demography, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, SE-223 63 Lund, Sweden; Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, OX1 3BD Oxford, United Kingdom)

  • Per Engzell

    (Nuffield College, University of Oxford, OX1 1NF Oxford, United Kingdom; Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden)

Abstract

A large literature documents how intergenerational mobility—the degree to which (dis)advantage is passed on from parents to children—varies across and within countries. Less is known about the origin or persistence of such differences. We show that US areas populated by descendants to European immigrants have similar levels of income equality and mobility as the countries their forebears came from: highest in areas dominated by descendants to Scandinavian and German immigrants, lower in places with French or Italian heritage, and lower still in areas with British roots. Similar variation in mobility is found for the black population and when analyzing causal place effects, suggesting that mobility differences arise at the community level and extend beyond descendants of European immigrant groups. Our findings indicate that the geography of US opportunity may have deeper historical roots than previously recognized.

Suggested Citation

  • Thor Berger & Per Engzell, 2019. "American geography of opportunity reveals European origins," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(13), pages 6045-6050, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nas:journl:v:116:y:2019:p:6045-6050
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Berger, Thor & Engzell, Per & Eriksson, Björn & Molinder, Jakob, 2023. "Social Mobility in Sweden before the Welfare State," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(2), pages 431-463, June.
    2. Dylan Shane Connor & Michael Storper, 2020. "The changing geography of social mobility in the United States," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(48), pages 30309-30317, December.
    3. Chen, Chinchih & Frey, Carl Benedikt & Presidente, Giorgio, 2021. "Culture and contagion: Individualism and compliance with COVID-19 policy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 191-200.
    4. Bengtsson, Erik, 2021. "The Evolution of Popular Politics in Nineteenth Century Sweden and the Road from Oligarchy to Democracy," Lund Papers in Economic History 226, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    5. Fu, Chao & Guo, Junjie & Smith, Adam J. & Sorensen, Alan, 2022. "Students’ heterogeneous preferences and the uneven spatial distribution of colleges," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 49-64.
    6. Connor, Dylan Shane & Berg, Aleksander K & Kemeny, Tom & Kedron, Peter, 2023. "Who gets left behind by left behind places?," SocArXiv nkydt, Center for Open Science.

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