The geography of family differences and intergenerational mobility

Ryan Gallagher (), Robert Kaestner and Joseph Persky ()

Journal of Economic Geography, 2019, vol. 19, issue 3, 589-618

Abstract: A recent series of studies by the Equality of Opportunity Project has documented substantial geographical differences in intergenerational income mobility. These spatial differences are important because they suggest that place matters more than previously thought in determining economic well-being. In this article, we show that family characteristics vary widely across areas and simulations indicate that differences in these family characteristics can explain a substantial share of the variation in intergenerational income mobility across places documented by the Equality of the Opportunity Project. Additionally, we show that the characteristics of families that move differ substantially from families that do not move and that family characteristics differ by the type of move made, which raise questions about the external and internal validity of causal inferences based on the Equality of Opportunity Project’s analysis of movers.

Keywords: Income inequality; migration; economic opportunity; intergenerational mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I31 R11 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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