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Social Mobility in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Findeisen, Sebastian
  • Sachs, Dominik
  • Schüle, Paul
  • Henkel, Lukas
  • Dodin, Majed

Abstract

We characterize intergenerational social mobility in Germany using census data on the educational attainment of 526,000 children and their parents’ earnings. Our measure of educational attainment is the A-Level degree, a requirement for access to university and the most important qualification in the German education system. On average, a 10 percentile increase in the parental income rank is associated with a 5.2 percentage point increase in the probability to obtain an A-Level. This parental income gradient has not changed for the birth cohorts from 1980 to 1996, despite a large-scale policy of expanding upper secondary education in Germany. At the regional level, there exists substantial variation in mobility estimates. Place effects, rather than sorting of households into different regions, seem to account for most of these geographical differences. Mobile regions are, among other aspects, characterized by high school quality and enhanced possibilities to obtain an A-Level degree in vocational schools.

Suggested Citation

  • Findeisen, Sebastian & Sachs, Dominik & Schüle, Paul & Henkel, Lukas & Dodin, Majed, 2021. "Social Mobility in Germany," CEPR Discussion Papers 16355, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16355
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    2. Eric A. Hanushek & Babs Jacobs & Guido Schwerdt & Rolf van der Velden & Stan Vermeulen & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Where Do STEM Graduates Stem From? The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages," CESifo Working Paper Series 9388, CESifo.
    3. Hanushek, Eric A. & Jacobs, Babs & Schwerdt, Guido & Van der Velden, Rolf & Vermeulen, Stan & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills: An Investigation of the Causal Impact of Families on Student Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 14854, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Forsberg, Erika & Khan, Akib & Rosenqvist, Olof, 2025. "Do sibling correlations in skills, schooling, and earnings vary by socioeconomic background? Insights from Sweden," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    5. Koeniger, Winfried & Zanella, Carlo, 2022. "Opportunity and inequality across generations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    6. Suzanne Bellue & Lukas Mahler, 2024. "Efficiency and Equity of Education Tracking A Quantitative Analysis," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_546, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    7. Bühler Jonas & Erhardt Tamara & Häner-Müller Melanie & Schaltegger Christoph A., 2025. "Ist Blut dicker als Wasser? Wie die Familie den sozialen Aufstieg beeinflusst," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 26(1), pages 62-79.
    8. Julia Baarck & Moritz Bode & Andreas Peichl, 2025. "Rising Inequality, Declining Mobility: The Evolution of Intergenerational Mobility in Germany," CEBI working paper series 25-15, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    9. Helbig, Marcel & Sendzik, Norbert, 2022. "What Drives Regional Disparities in Educational Expansion: School Reform, Modernization, or Social Structure?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(3), pages 1-1.
    10. Julia Baarck & Moritz Bode & Andreas Peichl, 2025. "Rising Inequality, Declining Mobility: The Evolution of Intergenerational Mobility in Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 12058, CESifo.
    11. Diego Battiston & Stephan Maurer & Andrei Potlogea & Jose V. Rodriguez Mora, 2025. "The Short and Long Run Dynamics of the Great Gatsby Curve," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 324, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    12. Timm Bönke & Astrid Harnack-Eber & Holger Lüthen, 2024. "The Broken Elevator: Declining Absolute Mobility of Living Standards in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2068, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Muñoz, Ercio & Siravegna, Mariel, 2023. "When Measure Matters: Coresidence Bias and Integenerational Mobility Revisited," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12832, Inter-American Development Bank.
    14. Markussen, Simen & Røed, Knut, 2023. "The rising influence of family background on early school performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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