Assortative Mating, Inequality, and Rising Educational Mobility in Spain

Ricard Grebol, Margarita Machelett, Jan Stuhler and Ernesto Villanueva
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Ricard Grebol: UPPSALA UNIVERSITY
Margarita Machelett: BANCO DE ESPAÑA
Jan Stuhler: UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID
Ernesto Villanueva: BANCO DE ESPAÑA

No 2606, Working Papers from Banco de España

Abstract: We study the evolution of intergenerational educational mobility and related distributional statistics in Spain. Over recent decades, mobility has risen by one-third, coinciding with pronounced declines in inequality and assortative mating among the same cohorts. To explore these patterns, we examine regional correlates of mobility, using split-sample techniques. A key finding from both national and regional analyses is the close association between mobility and assortative mating: spousal sorting accounts for nearly half of the regional variation in intergenerational correlations and also appears to be a key mediator of the negative relationship between inequality and mobility documented in recent studies.

Keywords: intergenerational mobility; assortative mating; inequality; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J12 J62 N34 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 76 pages
Date: 2026-02
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bde:wpaper:2606

DOI: 10.53479/42525

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