From parents to children: educational intergenerational mobility trends in Latin America and the Caribbean

Lucila Berniell, Cristian Bonavida and Dolores de la Mata

Chapter 6 in The Elgar Companion to the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2025, pp 158-189 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Latin America and the Caribbean exhibit high levels of inequality, which exceed what might be expected given their economic development. This inequality is not new to the region and affects education, health, income, and occupations. Despite some progress in economic and social indicators in recent decades, inequality has not significantly or sustainably decreased. This persistent inequality is strongly linked to intergenerational transmission across various dimensions of well-being. This chapter explores the role of human capital—particularly access to education—in sustaining intergenerational inequalities. It adopts a long-term perspective and a broad geographic scope, utilizing extensive microdata to examine educational expansion during the 20th century across more than 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The analysis focuses on trends in absolute and relative intergenerational mobility and inequality of opportunities in educational quality. The chapter also highlights disparities by gender, ethnicity, and geography.

Keywords: Inequality; Human capital; Absolute and relative intergenerational mobility; Gender and ethnic groups; Geographic disparities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035317196
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