TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Ichino, Andrea
AU  - Karabarbounis, Loukas
AU  - Moretti, Enrico
        TI  - The Political Economy of Intergenerational Income Mobility
        PY  - 2010/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 4767
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp4767
        AB  - The intergenerational elasticity of income is considered one of the best measures of the degree to which a society gives equal opportunity to its members. While much research has been devoted to measuring this reduced-form parameter, less is known about its underlying structural determinants. Using a model with exogenous talent endowments, endogenous parental investment in children and endogenous redistributive institutions, we identify the structural parameters that govern the intergenerational elasticity of income. The model clarifies how the interaction between private and collective decisions determines the equilibrium level of social mobility. Two societies with similar economic and biological fundamentals may have vastly different degrees of intergenerational mobility depending on their political institutions. We offer empirical evidence in line with the predictions of the model. We conclude that international comparisons of intergenerational elasticity of income are not particularly informative about fairness without taking into account differences in politico-economic institutions.
        KW  - intergenerational mobility
KW  - political institutions
KW  - public education
        ER  -