Assortative Mating and Education Gradients within and across Generations

Paul Bingley, Lorenzo Cappellari () and Konstantinos Tatsiramosc
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Lorenzo Cappellari: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

No def152, DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE)

Abstract: We develop a model that links education–outcome gradients to intergenerational transmission, distinguishing joint from parent-specific channels under assortative mating. Using Danish administrative data on family quartets, we estimate the own education–outcome gradient and, in addition, intergenerational gradients in long-run earnings, disposable income, assets, and wealth. Gradients differ sharply across domains: for earnings and income, joint transmission matters alongside individual-specific heterogeneity; for assets and especially wealth, gradients are dominated by parent-specific channels. Exploiting Danish schooling reforms, we show that the composition of financial gradients varies with access to schooling.

Keywords: Assortative mating; Education gradients; Intergenerational mobility. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 E21 I24 J12 J24 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33
Date: 2026-03
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