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Intergenerational Mobility in Education: Variation in Geography and Time

Author

Listed:
  • Jason Fletcher
  • Joel Han

Abstract

Education mobility contributes to income mobility and is an important policy target but has received little attention. This paper documents trends (1982–2004) and geographical differences (across US states) in education mobility. We develop mobility measures that respect the unique properties of education attainment. While standard approaches suggest slightly increasing mobility over the sample period, we find that mobility fluctuated, decreasing over roughly the first decade and increasing in the second. Geographic variation in education mobility is correlated with local community and policy factors—such as the existence of high school exit exams. Finally, the South is excluded from national increases in mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Jason Fletcher & Joel Han, 2019. "Intergenerational Mobility in Education: Variation in Geography and Time," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(4), pages 585-634.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/705610
    DOI: 10.1086/705610
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    Cited by:

    1. Ferry, Marin & de Talancé, Marine & Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel, 2022. "Less debt, more schooling? Evidence from cross-country micro data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 153-173.
    2. Lou, Jing & Li, Jie, 2022. "Export expansion and intergenerational education mobility: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Handy, Christopher & Shester, Katharine L., 2022. "Local changes in intergenerational mobility," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Ricard Grebol & Margarita Machelett & Jan Stuhler & Ernesto Villanueva, 2025. "Assortative Mating, Inequality, and Rising Educational Mobility in Spain," Papers 2512.22848, arXiv.org.
    5. Martha Bailey & Paul Mohnen & A.R. Shariq Mohammed, 2026. "The Evolution of U.S. Educational Mobility over the 20th Century and the Role of Public Education," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2026-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    6. Alberto Alesina & Sebastian Hohmann & Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2021. "Intergenerational Mobility in Africa," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(1), pages 1-35, January.
    7. Michele Bavaro & Federico Tullio, 2023. "Intergenerational mobility measurement with latent transition matrices," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(1), pages 25-45, March.
    8. Handy, Christopher & Shester, Katharine, 2020. "Accounting for Changes in Intergenerational Mobility," MPRA Paper 102425, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Xiaohe Zhou & Mingda Cheng & Chunhui Ye, 2023. "The Impact of Household Migration on the Intergenerational Educational Mobility: Based on the Perspective of Adolescent Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-13, March.
    10. Ahsan, Md Nazmul & Emran, M. Shahe & Mohammed, A. R. Shariq & Murphy, Orla A. & Shilpi, Forhad, 2025. "When Ranks Fail: New Evidence on Intergenerational Educational Mobility," MPRA Paper 127250, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Xueying Mu & Siqi Wan, 2026. "Intergenerational Insight: Unpacking the Impact of Children’s Educational Mobility on Elderly Mental Health in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 1-24, March.
    12. Sulagna Mookerjee & John D. Pedersen & David Slichter, 2023. "Time Use and the Geography of Economic Opportunity," Research in Labor Economics, in: Time Use in Economics, volume 51, pages 89-104, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    13. Bénédicte Apouey & Zoya Nissanov & Jacques Silber, 2023. "Ordinal Variables and the Measurement of Upward and Downward Intergenerational Educational Mobility in European Countries," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(3), pages 776-800, September.
    14. Dong, Junyan & Li, Ying & Zhang, Hanjie, 2025. "Trends and structural decomposition of intergenerational mobility in Chinese education: Analysis based on birth cohorts," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    15. Fletcher, Jason & Jajtner, Katie M., 2023. "Multidimensional intergenerational mobility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    16. Emran, M. Shahe & Jiang, Hanchen & Shilpi, Forhad, 2025. "Is gender destiny? Gender bias and intergenerational educational mobility in India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    17. Luís Clemente-Casinhas & Luís Filipe Martins & Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes, 2025. "Using Survey Data to Estimate Intergenerational Mobility in Income and Education in Portugal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 176(1), pages 51-106, January.
    18. Marco Colagrossi & Andrea Geraci & Gianluca Mazzarella, 2023. "Intergenerational mobility in the Netherlands: models, outcomes and trends," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(4), pages 775-788, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J48 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Particular Labor Markets; Public Policy

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