The Name Says It All: Multigenerational Social Mobility in Basel (Switzerland), 1550–2019

Melanie Häner and Christoph Schaltegger

Journal of Human Resources, 2024, vol. 59, issue 3, 711-742

Abstract: We analyze multigenerational social mobility by drawing on a novel hand-collected data set from Basel (1550–2019) and using a new surname-based approach. We find an average parent–child persistence of about 0.4 and an average grandparent–child persistence of about 0.2 in a three-generational model applied to a time span of more than 450 years. A cyclical pattern indicates that social mobility was lowest in wartime generations, with spreading afterward. We measure a statistically significant additional influence of the grandparental generation but not of earlier generations. This reveals the importance of multigenerational analyses to examine equal opportunities in society.

Date: 2024
Note: DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0621-11749R2
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:59:y:2024:i:3:p:711-742

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