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Measuring social mobility rates in earlier and less-documented societies

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  • Gregory Clark

Abstract

In societies where surnames are inherited from parents, we can use these names to estimate rates of intergenerational mobility. This paper explains how to make such estimates, and illustrates their use in pre-industrial England and modern Chile and India. These surname estimates have the advantage that they require much less data than traditional parent-child estimates. They are also more robust to errors in status data. Thus, they can be used to estimate social mobility rates in early societies such as England 1300-1800, or in less-developed societies now.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory Clark, 2020. "Measuring social mobility rates in earlier and less-documented societies," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-28, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2020-28
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Clark, Gregory & Leigh, Andrew & Pottenger, Mike, 2020. "Frontiers of mobility: Was Australia 1870–2017 a more socially mobile society than England?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Clark, Gregory & Cummins, Neil & Hao, Yu & Vidal, Dan Diaz, 2015. "Surnames: A new source for the history of social mobility," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 3-24.
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