Intergenerational Mobility at the Top of the Educational Distribution

Abstract

Research has shown that intergenerational mobility is higher among individuals with a college degree than those with lower levels of schooling. However, mobility declines among graduate degree holders. This finding questions the meritocratic power of higher education. Prior research has been hampered, however, by the small samples of advanced degree holders in representative surveys. Drawing on a large longitudinal data set of PhD holders-the Survey of Doctorate Recipients-this study examines intergenerational mobility among the American educational elite, separately for men and women and different racial/ethnic groups. Results show substantial mobility among PhD holders. The association between parents' education and adult children's earnings is moderate among men and nonexistent among women with doctoral degrees. However, women's earnings converge to an average level that is much lower than men's, signaling ''perverse openness'' for women even at the top of the educational distribution. Among men, there is variation in mobility by race and ethnicity. The intergenerational socioeconomic association is null for Asian men, small for white and black men, and more pronounced for Hispanics. Educational and occupational mediators account for intergenerational association among blacks and whites but not Hispanic men. A doctoral degree largely detaches individuals from their social origins in the United States, but it does not eliminate all sources of inequality.

Are They Still Worth It? The Long-Run Earnings Benefits of an Associate Degree, Vocational Diploma or Certificate, and Some College

“…Horizontal stratification within higher education (fields of study) has received relatively less attention than vertical stratification (levels of education) as a mechanism of economic stratification (Gerber and Cheung 2008). This study’s results are consistent with a growing body of studies showing the importance of horizontal stratification (Kim, Tamborini, and Sakamoto 2015; Ma and Savas 2014; Torche 2018). In light of recent technological changes and economic trends, some students who studied engineering or health services may benefit more from community college programs than from studying nontechnical BA majors (Oreopoulos and Petronijevic 2013).…”

Great Equalizer or Great Selector? Reconsidering Education as a Moderator of Intergenerational Transmissions

“…More specifically, contradicting prior descriptive mobility research and echoing Zhou’s (2019) recent findings, I find no evidence that a bachelor’s degree has a unique equalizing effect. Unlike Torche’s (2011) descriptive analysis but consistent with her more recent analysis of doctoral-degree holders (Torche 2018), I also find no compelling evidence that a graduate or professional degree has a disequalizing effect. The most unique contribution here is the finding that failing to complete high school seems to leave a strong direct link between family income in childhood and adulthood.…”

“…This could explain the common descriptive equalization pattern but not the heightened intergenerational effects among individuals with graduate degrees. As Torche (2018) later noted, however, the latter difference could be spurious if selection bias is less pronounced at the postbaccalaureate level than at the baccalaureate level. Suppose bachelor’s degrees are normative in socioeconomically advantaged families, so degree holders from advantaged backgrounds are less selected than their disadvantaged peers on things like ability and motivation.…”

“…Studies that explore educational differences in mobility yield a few typical patterns: Direct intergenerational associations decline as schooling increases, and they are often lowest among bachelor's-degree holders (Bernardi and Ballarino 2016;Breen and Jonsson 2007;Hauser and Logan 1992;Hout 1984Hout , 1988Hout , 2018Pfeffer and Hertel 2015;Torche 2011). Intergenerational associations appear relatively strong, however, among individuals with graduate and professional degrees (Torche 2011), with the possible exception of doctoral-degree holders (Torche 2018). 1 Does it matter whether these educational differences reflect education's causal role as an intergenerational moderator?…”

Crossing the finish line? A review of college completion inequality in the United States by race and class

“…As I discuss later, this sorting process has important long‐term implications, since a student who first enrolls in a selective institution is more likely to complete a degree than a student who first enrolls at a non‐selective institution, and the probability increases with the selectivity of the institution (Melguizo, ; Melguizo et al, ). Likewise, as more students plan to attend college, aspirations and expectations of obtaining a graduate degree may be becoming more important for status maintenance among privileged youth (see Posselt & Grodsky, ; Torche, ).…”