Articles | Open Access | https://doi.org/10.55640/

Economic Development and Educational Opportunity: A Cross-National Analysis of Intergenerational Mobility

Dr. Pilar Castañeda-Ruiz , Center for Educational Policy Studies, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between economic development and intergenerational educational mobility across a diverse set of countries. Drawing on cross-national data, we examine how varying levels of economic development influence the extent to which children’s educational outcomes are linked to their parents' educational attainment. The analysis highlights significant differences in mobility patterns between high-, middle-, and low-income nations, suggesting that economic development plays a pivotal role in shaping educational opportunity. Structural factors such as income inequality, public investment in education, and labor market dynamics are also considered. Our findings contribute to understanding the conditions under which education serves as a vehicle for social mobility and inform policy discussions on promoting equal opportunity.

Keywords

Intergenerational mobility, Educational opportunity

References

Abizadeh, S., & Gray, J. (1985). Wagner’s Law: A pooled time-series, cross-section comparison. National Tax Journal, 38(2), 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1086/ntj41792010

Aydemir, A. B., & Yazici, H. (2019). Intergenerational education mobility and the level of development. European Economic Review, 116, 160–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2019.04.003

Becker, G. S., & Tomes, N. (1979). An Equilibrium Theory of the Distribution of Income and Intergenerational Mobility. Journal of Political Economy, 87(6), 1153–1189. https://doi.org/10.1086/260831

Becker, G. S., & Tomes, N. (1986). Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families. Journal of Labor Economics, 4(3, Part 2), S1–S39. https://doi.org/10.1086/298118

Behrman, J. R., Gaviria, A., Székely, M., Birdsall, N., & Galiani, S. (2001). Intergenerational Mobility in Latin America. Economía, 2(1), 1–44.

Benhabib, J., & Spiegel, M. M. (1994). The role of human capital in economic development: evidence from aggregate cross-country data. Journal of Monetary Economics, 34(2), 143–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3932(94)90047-7

Bereday, G. Z. F., & Pennar, J. (1960). The politics of Soviet education.

Björklund, A., & Salvanes, K. G. (2011). Education and Family Background: Mechanisms and Policies. In Handbook of the Economics of Education, 3, 201–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-53429-3.00003-x

Black, S. E., & Devereux, P. J. (2011). Recent Developments in Intergenerational Mobility. Handbook of Labor Economics, 4, 1487–1541. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0169-7218(11)02414-2

Blanden, J. (2013). Cross‐country rankings in intergenerational mobility: a comparison of approaches from economics and sociology. Journal of Economic Surveys, 27(1), 38–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2011.00690.x

Blanden, J., Goodman, A., Gregg, P., & Machin, S. (2004). Changes in intergenerational mobility in Britain. In Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe, 122–146. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511492549.007

Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture.

Breen, R., & Jonsson, J. O. (2005). Inequality of Opportunity in Comparative Perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 31, 223–243. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.31.041304.122232

Breen, R., Mood, C., & Jonsson, J. (2016). The Relationship between Social and Income Mobility in Sweden. Sociological Science, 3, 39–60. https://doi.org/10.15195/v3.a3

Buchmann, C., & Hannum, E. (2001). Education and Stratification in Developing Countries. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 77–102. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.77

Burger, K., & Walk, M. (2016). Can children break the cycle of disadvantage? Social Psychology of Education, 19(4), 695–713. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9361-y

Causa, O., & Johansson, Å. (2010). Intergenerational Social Mobility in OECD Countries. OECD Journal: Economic Studies, 2010(1), 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1787/eco_studies-2010-5km33scz5rjj

Chetty, R., Hendren, N., Kline, P., & Saez, E. (2014). Where is the land of Opportunity? Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129(4), 1553–1623. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qju022

Christopher, C. B. (2019). Social inequality and social stratification in US society. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429279331

Article Statistics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Copyright License

Download Citations

How to Cite

Economic Development and Educational Opportunity: A Cross-National Analysis of Intergenerational Mobility. (2025). International Journal of Social Sciences, 5(08), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.55640/