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Industrial Composition and Intergenerational Mobility

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  • Stephan D. Whitaker

Abstract

Using the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY), this article examines the influence of a region’s industrial composition on the educational attainment of children raised by parents who do not have college degrees. The NLSY’s geo-coded panel allows for precise measurements of the local industries that shaped the parents’ employment opportunities and the labor market that the children directly observed. For cohorts finishing school in the 1990s and early 2000s, concentrations of manufacturing are positively associated with both high school and college attainment. Concentrations of college-degree intensive industries are positively associated with college attainment. I investigate several potential mechanisms that could relate the industrial composition to educational attainment, including returns to education, opportunity costs, parental inputs, community resources, and information.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephan D. Whitaker, 2016. "Industrial Composition and Intergenerational Mobility," Working Papers (Old Series) 1533R, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, revised 22 Oct 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedcwp:1533
    DOI: 10.26509/frbc-wp-201533R
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industrial Composition; Intergenerational Mobility; Educational Attainment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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