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Intergenerational Mobility in Socio-emotional Skills

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  • Attanasio, Orazio
  • Toppeta, Alessandro
  • de Paula, Aureo

Abstract

This paper investigates the intergenerational transmission of socio-emotional skills during childhood, using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) in the United Kingdom. This dataset enables us to measure two dimensions of socio-emotional development: internalising and externalising skills. More importantly, we can use multiple measures of parents' skills collected during both their childhood and their adulthood. Whereas parent-child skills are strongly related when both are measured contemporaneously, they remain correlated when both are measured in childhood, with a stronger transmission observed from mothers to their children. Additionally, by leveraging the BCS70 data on socio-emotional skills for three generations, we estimate multi-generational persistence. Notably, we find a correlation between the grandmother's internalising skill and the grandchildren's skills, even after accounting for parental skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Attanasio, Orazio & Toppeta, Alessandro & de Paula, Aureo, 2020. "Intergenerational Mobility in Socio-emotional Skills," CEPR Discussion Papers 15254, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15254
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    Cited by:

    1. Sevim, Dilek & Baranov, Victoria & Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Maselko, Joanna & Biroli, Pietro, 2023. "Socioemotional Skills in Early Childhood: Evidence from a Maternal Psychosocial Intervention," IZA Discussion Papers 15925, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Emilia Del Bono & Ben Etheridge & Paul Garcia, 2026. "The economic value of childhood socio-economic skills," IFS Working Papers W26/42, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    3. Daniela Del Boca & Enrica Maria Martino & Chiara Pronzato, 2023. "Correction to: Non cognitive skills and childcare attendance," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1153-1153, September.
    4. Bencsik, Panka & Halliday, Timothy J. & Mazumder, Bhashkar, 2023. "The intergenerational transmission of mental and physical health in the United Kingdom," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Alessandro Toppeta, 2026. "Skill Formation with Siblings," CESifo Working Paper Series 12736, CESifo.
    6. Schüle, Paul, 2026. "Career preferences and socio-economic background," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Jim Been & Anne C. Gielen & Marike Knoef & Gloria Moroni, 2022. "Prolonged worklife among grandfathers: Spillover effects on grandchildren's educational outcomes," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-033/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    8. Davillas, Apostolos & de Oliveira, Victor Hugo & Raftopoulou, Athina, 2025. "Parental health, adolescents’ mental distress and non-cognitive skills," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    9. Paul Schüle, 2023. "Career Preferences and Socio-Economic Background," ifo Working Paper Series 395, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    10. Fabián Humberto Marín-González & Iago Portela-Pino & Juan Pedro Fuentes-García & María José Martínez-Patiño, 2024. "Analysis of Socio-Emotional Competencies as a Key Dimension for Sustainability in Colombian Elite Athletes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-18, March.
    11. Hidalgo-Aréstegui, Alessandra & Porter, Catherine & Sánchez, Alan & Singhal, Saurabh, 2025. "The long shadow of conflict on human capital: Intergenerational evidence from Peru," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    12. Sevim, Dilek & Baranov, Victoria & Bhalotra, Sonia & Maselko, Joanna & Biroli, Pietro, 2023. "Trajectories of Early Childhood Skill Development and Maternal Mental Health," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1469, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    13. Dilek Sevim & Victoria Baranov & Sonia Bhalotra & Joanna Maselko & Pietro Biroli, 2024. "Trajectories of Early Childhood Skill Development and Maternal Mental Health," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 59(S), pages 365-401.
    14. Del Bono, Emilia & Etheridge, Ben & Garcia, Paul, 2024. "The economic value of childhood socio-emotional skills," ISER Working Paper Series 2024-01, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    15. Sevim, Dilek & Baranov, Victoria & Bhalotra, Sonia & Maselko, Joanna & Biroli, Pietro, 2023. "Trajectories of Early Childhood Skill Development and Maternal Mental Health," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 674, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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