Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility

Miles Corak

No 7520, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Families, labor markets, and public policies all structure a child’s opportunities and determine the extent to which adult earnings are related to family background. Cross-country comparisons and the underlying trends suggest that these drivers will most likely lower the degree of intergenerational earnings mobility for the next generation of Americans coming of age in a more polarized labor market, while the substantial rise in the income shares of the top 1 percent, their access to sources of high-quality human capital investment for their children, and the intergenerational transmission of employers and wealth will imply a much higher rate of transmission of economic advantage at the very top.

Keywords: intergenerational mobility; human capital; inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2013-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (771)

Published - published in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2013, 27 (3), 79-102

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Journal Article: Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility (2013)
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