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Intergenerational Mobility of Education in Europe: Geographical Patterns, Cohort-Linked Measures, and the Innovation Nexus

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Listed:
  • Sarah McNamara

    (ZEW Mannheim)

  • Guido Neidhöfer

    (ZEW Mannheim)

  • Patrick Lehnert

    (University of Zurich)

Abstract

We estimate intergenerational mobility of education for people born 1940-1999 at the subnational level for 40 European countries. The result is a panel of mobility indices for 105 mesoregions (NUTS1), and 215 microregions (NUTS2). We use these indices to make three contributions. First, we describe the geography of intergenerational mobility in Europe. Second, adapting a novel weighting procedure based on cohorts’ relative economic contribution, we transform cohort-linked measures into annual measures of intergenerational mobility for each region. Third, we investigate the relationship between intergenerational mobility and innovation, and find robust evidence that higher mobility is associated with increased innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah McNamara & Guido Neidhöfer & Patrick Lehnert, 2024. "Intergenerational Mobility of Education in Europe: Geographical Patterns, Cohort-Linked Measures, and the Innovation Nexus," Working Papers 664, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    • Handle: RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2024-664
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational Mobility; Equality of Opportunity; Human Capital; Innovation; Regional Economic Performance; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • 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
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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