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Social Mobility in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Majed Dodin

    (University of Mannheim)

  • Sebastian Findeisen

    (University of Konstanz)

  • Lukas Henkel

    (European Central Bank)

  • Dominik Sachs

    (LMU Munich)

  • Paul Schüle

    (ifo Munich and LMU Munich)

Abstract
We characterize intergenerational social mobility in Germany using census data on the educational attainment of 526,000 children and their parents’ earnings. Our measure of educational attainment is the A-Level degree, a requirement for access to university and the most important qualification in the German education sys-tem. On average, a 10 percentile increase in the parental income rank is associated with a 5.2 percentage point increase in the probability to obtain an A-Level. This parental income gradient has not changed for the birth cohorts from 1980 to 1996, despite a large-scale policy of expanding upper secondary education in Germany. At the regional level, there exists substantial variation in mobility estimates. Place effects, rather than sorting of households into different regions, seem to account for most of these geographical differences. Mobile regions are, among other as-pects, characterized by high school quality and enhanced possibilities to obtain an A-Level degree on vocational schools.

Suggested Citation

  • Majed Dodin & Sebastian Findeisen & Lukas Henkel & Dominik Sachs & Paul Schüle, 2021. "Social Mobility in Germany," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2021-01, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    • Handle: RePEc:knz:dpteco:2101
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    File URL: http://www.uni-konstanz.de/FuF/wiwi/workingpaperseries/WP_01_Dodin_Findeisen_Henkel_Sachs_Schuele_2021.pdf
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    2. Hanushek, Eric A. & Jacobs, Babs & Schwerdt, Guido & Van der Velden, Rolf & Vermeulen, Stan & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills: An Investigation of the Causal Impact of Families on Student Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 14854, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Markussen, Simen & Røed, Knut, 2023. "The rising influence of family background on early school performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Koeniger, Winfried & Zanella, Carlo, 2022. "Opportunity and inequality across generations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    5. Helbig, Marcel & Sendzik, Norbert, 2022. "What Drives Regional Disparities in Educational Expansion: School Reform, Modernization, or Social Structure?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(3), pages 1-1.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational Mobility; Educational Attainment; Local Labor Markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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