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Social Mobility in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Dodin, Majed

    (University of Mannheim)

  • Findeisen, Sebastian

    (University of Konstanz)

  • Henkel, Lukas

    (European Central Bank)

  • Sachs, Dominik

    (LMU Munich)

  • Schüle, Paul

    (LMU Munich and ifo Institute)

Abstract
We characterize intergenerational mobility in Germany using census data on educational attainment and parental income for 526,000 children. Our measure of educational attainment is the A-Level degree, a requirement for access to university. A 10 percentile increase in the parental income rank is associated with a 5.2 percentage point increase in the A-Level share. This parental income gradient has not changed for the birth cohorts of 1980-1996, despite a large-scale policy of expanding upper secondary education. At the regional level, there exists substantial variation in mobility estimates. Place effects, rather than sorting of households, account for most of these differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Dodin, Majed & Findeisen, Sebastian & Henkel, Lukas & Sachs, Dominik & Schüle, Paul, 2021. "Social Mobility in Germany," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 298, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    • Handle: RePEc:rco:dpaper:298
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    1. Eric A. Hanushek & Babs Jacobs & Guido Schwerdt & Rolf van der Velden & Stan Vermeulen & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Where Do STEM Graduates Stem From? The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages," CESifo Working Paper Series 9388, CESifo.
    2. Koeniger, Winfried & Zanella, Carlo, 2022. "Opportunity and inequality across generations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    3. Eric A. Hanushek & Babs Jacobs & Guido Schwerdt & Rolf van der Velden & Stan Vermeulen & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills: An Investigation of the Causal Impact of Families on Student Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 29450, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Muñoz, Ercio & Siravegna, Mariel, 2023. "When Measure Matters: Coresidence Bias and Integenerational Mobility Revisited," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12832, Inter-American Development Bank.
    5. Markussen, Simen & Røed, Knut, 2023. "The rising influence of family background on early school performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    6. Helbig, Marcel & Sendzik, Norbert, 2022. "What Drives Regional Disparities in Educational Expansion: School Reform, Modernization, or Social Structure?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(3), pages 1-1.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational mobility; educational attainment; local labor markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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