Intergenerational mobility of education and occupation and income inequality in Brazil

Abstract

Economic development and the reduction of inequality are strongly related to the intergenerational mobility of individuals in a society. Regarding educational dynamics, in particular, the empirical literature presents a series of evidence that greater mobility in education occurs in more developed regions. This work aims to analyze intergenerational mobility in education and occupation, as well as income inequality in Brazil and its regions, based on data from the 2014 National Household Sample Survey. Mobility was analyzed using non-parametric indicators. For the analysis of inequality, the Gini index was used. The results suggest that the Northeast region seems to be caught in a poverty trap. Despite having one of the lowest income inequalities among Brazilian regions, the Northeast also has the lowest average income. Additionally, it is associated with the lowest mobility indices in education and occupation, greater persistence in the lower stratum (education and occupation) and low persistence in the upper stratum of education. In the long term, the Northeast region converges to the lowest percentage of individuals belonging to the upper educational strata.

Keywords: Intergenerational Mobility. Education. Occupation. Inequality.