Intergenerational Mobility in Africa
Alberto Alesina,
Sebastian Hohmann,
Stelios Michalopoulos and
Elias Papaioannou
Econometrica, 2021, vol. 89, issue 1, 1-35
Abstract:
We examine intergenerational mobility (IM) in educational attainment in Africa since independence using census data. First, we map IM across 27 countries and more than 2800 regions, documenting wide cross‐country and especially within‐country heterogeneity. Inertia looms large as differences in the literacy of the old generation explain about half of the observed spatial disparities in IM. The rural‐urban divide is substantial. Though conspicuous in some countries, there is no evidence of systematic gender gaps in IM. Second, we characterize the geography of IM, finding that colonial investments in railroads and Christian missions, as well as proximity to capitals and the coastline are the strongest correlates. Third, we ask whether the regional differences in mobility reflect spatial sorting or their independent role. To isolate the two, we focus on children whose families moved when they were young. Comparing siblings, looking at moves triggered by displacement shocks, and using historical migrations to predict moving‐families' destinations, we establish that, while selection is considerable, regional exposure effects are at play. An extra year spent in a high‐mobility region before the age of 12 (and after 5) significantly raises the likelihood for children of uneducated parents to complete primary school. Overall, the evidence suggests that geographic and historical factors laid the seeds for spatial disparities in IM that are cemented by sorting and the independent impact of regions.
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)
Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA17018
Related works:
Working Paper: Intergenerational Mobility in Africa (2019) 
Working Paper: Intergenerational Mobility in Africa (2019) 
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:emetrp:v:89:y:2021:i:1:p:1-35
Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.economet ... ordering-back-issues
Access Statistics for this article
Econometrica is currently edited by Guido W. Imbens
More articles in Econometrica from Econometric Society Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().