Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive and Socioemotional Skills and Social Mobility Through Education: Evidence from Mexico

This study analyzes the mechanisms of transmission that contribute to intergenerational persistence in education. The empirical strategy is based on a simultaneous equations approach to explain educational attainment. It demonstrates that both cognitive skills—measured through fluid intelligence, assessed using a shortened version of Raven's Progressive Matrices—and socioemotional skills—captured through the Big Five personality traits—are equally relevant factors in determining the level of education achieved, even after controlling for parental education and household wealth. While household wealth did not have a direct effect, it indirectly influenced children's aptitudes. Parental education has a direct effect on children's educational attainment, as well as an indirect effect through their aptitudes. These results suggest that both parental wealth and education are catalysts for the development of children's skills and, consequently, their educational level and social mobility.