Intergenerational Mobility in India: New Measures and Estimates across Time and Social Groups

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Year: 2024
Volume: 16
Issue: 2
Pages: 66-98

Authors (3)

Sam Asher (not in RePEc) Paul Novosad (Dartmouth College) Charlie Rafkin (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study intergenerational mobility in India. We propose a new measure of upward mobility: the expected education rank of a child born to parents in the bottom half of the education distribution. This measure works well under data constraints common in developing countries and historical contexts. Intergenerational mobility in India has been constant and low since before liberalization. Among sons, we observe rising mobility for Scheduled Castes and declining mobility among Muslims. Daughters' intergenerational mobility is lower than sons', with less cross-group variation over time. A natural experiment suggests that affirmative action for Scheduled Castes has substantially improved their mobility.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejapp:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:66-98
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-26