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Skills, Parental Sorting, and Child Inequality

Author

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  • Nybom, Martin
  • Plug, Erik
  • van der Klaauw, Bas
  • Ziegler, Lennart
Abstract
This paper formulates a simple skill and education model to explain how better access to higher education leads to stronger assortative mating on skills of parents and more polarized skill and earnings distributions of children. Swedish data show that in the second half of the 20th century more skilled students increasingly enrolled in college and ended up with more skilled partners and more skilled children. Exploiting college expansions, we find that better college access increases both skill sorting in couples and skill and earnings inequality among their children. All findings support the notion that rising earnings inequality is, at least in part, supply driven by rising skill inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Nybom, Martin & Plug, Erik & van der Klaauw, Bas & Ziegler, Lennart, 2023. "Skills, Parental Sorting, and Child Inequality," CEPR Discussion Papers 17821, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17821
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    Cited by:

    1. Markus, Philipp, 2023. "Effects of access to universities on education and migration decisions," Ruhr Economic Papers 996, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Assortative mating;

    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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