Intergenerational mobility of economic well-being in Latin America

Working Paper 2022-620

Abstract

We estimate, for the first time, long-run trends in intergenerational economic mobility for a multitude of countries in Latin America going beyond parent-child correlations in educational attainment. We use several indicators of well-being, such as the socio-economic situation of individuals, job stability, homeownership and assets. Unlike estimates based on education, which mostly show increasing social mobility trends, we find that opportunities to achieve a certain level of economic well-being and climb up the social ladder are rather unequally distributed and have not changed much over time in Latin America.

Authors: Guido Neidhöfer, Leonardo Gasparini, Matias Ciaschi.