Intergenerational Mobility and Unequal School Opportunity

Andreu Arenas and Jean Hindriks

The Economic Journal, 2021, vol. 131, issue 635, 1027-1050

Abstract: We analyse the impact of unequal school opportunity on intergenerational income mobility and human capital accumulation. Building upon the classical Becker–Tomes–Solon framework, we use a regime-switch model allowing for differences in income transmission across groups. We find that unequal school opportunity raises average human capital because of assortative matching. However, because income dispersion tends to be higher at the top, in most cases unequal school opportunity decreases intergenerational mobility. Calibrating the model to the USA, simulations suggest that school equalisation and desegregation policies have positive effects on mobility at relatively small efficiency costs.

Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Working Paper: Intergenerational mobility and unequal school opportunity (2020)
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