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Black-White Differences in Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the U.S

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  • Bhashkar Mazumder

Abstract

Traditional measures of intergenerational mobility such as the intergenerational elasticity are not useful for inferences concerning group differences in mobility with respect to the pooled income distribution. This paper uses transition probabilities and measures of “directional rank mobility” that can identify inter-racial differences in intergenerational mobility. The study uses two data sources including one that contains social security earnings for a large intergenerational sample. I find that recent cohorts of blacks are not only significantly less upwardly mobile but also significantly more downwardly mobile than whites. This implies a steady-state distribution in which there is no racial convergence in income. A descriptive analysis using covariates reveals that test scores in adolescence can explain much of the racial difference in both upward and downward mobility. Family structure can account for some of the racial gap in upward mobility but not downward mobility. Completed schooling and parental wealth also appear to account for some of the racial gaps in intergenerational mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhashkar Mazumder, 2011. "Black-White Differences in Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the U.S," Working Papers 11-40, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:11-40
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    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2011/CES-WP-11-40.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeremiah Richey & Alicia Rosburg, 2017. "Changing Roles Of Ability And Education In U.S. Intergenerational Mobility," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(1), pages 187-201, January.
    2. Orhan Torul & Oguz Oztunali, 2017. "Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Europe," Working Papers 2017/03, Bogazici University, Department of Economics.
    3. Mehtabul Azam, 2022. "Household income mobility in India, 1993–2011," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 1902-1943, November.
    4. Kappelman, Abigail L. & Ro, Annie & Admon, Lindsay & Needham, Belinda L. & Fleischer, Nancy L., 2025. "Black/White disparities in low birth weight across maternal trajectories of social mobility in South Carolina," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 366(C).
    5. Razzu, Giovanni & Wambile, Ayago, 2025. "Three-generation educational mobility in six African countries: The role of grandparents," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Fletcher, Jason & Jajtner, Katie M., 2023. "Multidimensional intergenerational mobility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    7. Liana E. Fox, 2016. "Parental Wealth and the Black–White Mobility Gap in the U.S," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 706-723, December.
    8. Shahe Emran & Forhad Shilpi, 2019. "Economic approach to intergenerational mobility: Measures, methods, and challenges in developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-98, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Corak, Miles & Lindquist, Matthew J. & Mazumder, Bhashkar, 2014. "A comparison of upward and downward intergenerational mobility in Canada, Sweden and the United States," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 185-200.
    10. 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.
    11. McDonough, Ian K., 2015. "Dynamics of the black–white gap in academic achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 17-33.

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