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The Geography of Life Chances and Intergenerational Mobility

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  • Connor, Dylan Shane

Abstract

We have entered a new era of soaring inequalities in income and wealth, patterns driven by a highly differentiated landscape of opportunity. This economic reality has propelled the geographies of intergenerational mobility and life chances to the forefront of the social science agenda. While geographers are increasingly engaging with these topics, the field of economic geography provides a critical, yet underutilized, theoretical foundation for this work. This chapter proposes the People-Experience-Places (PEP) framework, a model for analyzing the geographic differentiation of life chances across space and time. Drawing from core schools of thought within economic geography, the framework identifies the foundational mechanisms that produce spatially differentiated opportunity regimes and their impact on intergenerational mobility. The chapter concludes with a call for economic geographers to return to the core concerns of understanding and addressing inequalities in livelihood possibilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Connor, Dylan Shane, 2026. "The Geography of Life Chances and Intergenerational Mobility," SocArXiv ku6je_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:ku6je_v1
    DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/ku6je_v1
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