Work

Like Father Like Son? Intergenerational Immobility in England, 1851–1911

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper uses a new linked sample constructed from full-count census data of 1851–1911 to revise estimates of intergenerational occupational mobility in England. I find that conventional estimates of intergenerational elasticities are attenuated by classical measurement error and severely underestimate the extent of father-son association in socioeconomic status. Instrumenting one measure of the father’s outcome with a second measure of the father’s outcome raises the intergenerational elasticities (β) of occupational status from 0.4 to 0.6–0.7. Victorian England was therefore a society of limited social mobility. The long-run evolution and international comparisons of social mobility in England are discussed.

Source: The Journal of Economic History

DOI: 10.1017/s0022050724000391

Author: Ziming Zhu

Institution: London School of Economics and Political Science

Language: English

Topic: Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450