From one generation to the next: Mobility of socio-economic status

This chapter looks at intergenerational mobility in occupational status and earnings. It first investigates the extent to which occupational status is correlated across generations and provides evidence on its evolution over time. It then presents estimates of earnings mobility between fathers and sons for a broad range of OECD countries and emerging economies, as well as some results on the intergenerational mobility of daughters. The chapter decomposes earnings persistence into an educational and an occupational component. It also looks beyond individual earnings by exploring intergenerational social mobility in terms of household income. Finally, it discusses the transmission of earnings and wealth at different points of the distribution.