Intergenerational social mobility across OECD countries: Does the apple fall far from the tree?

Intergenerational social mobility refers to the relationship between the socio-economic status of parents and the status their children achieve as adults. Removing policy-related obstacles to mobility is justified on both equity and efficiency grounds: enabling individuals to reach their full potential is an important catalyst of innovation and productivity. This paper delivers evidence on patterns of intergenerational social mobility across countries by exploiting the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). It examines multiple dimensions including earnings, women’s labour market participation and educational attainment. In almost all countries covered, individuals with high-educated parents enjoy an earnings premium, while these with low-educated parents face an earnings penalty. Women’s labour market participation is significantly lower when parents, especially mothers, have lower levels of education. Likewise, the paper finds substantial intergenerational persistence in educational outcomes. In many countries, the effects of parental background diminish once an individual’s own education is accounted for, highlighting education and skills as key transmission channels. Yet, in several countries, equalising education is not sufficient: even among individuals with similar levels and fields of education, parental background continues to influence offspring’ economic outcomes. The results vary widely across countries and dimensions, underscoring the complex multi-faceted nature of intergenerational social mobility.