Intergenerational Mobility Within and Across Nations Conference

September 2009, University of Wisconsin–Madison

IRP held a working conference on “Intergenerational Mobility Within and Across Nations” at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Cosponsored by the European Commission, FP 6; the Russell Sage Foundation; and the PEW Charitable Trust, the conference was organized by Timothy Smeeding, IRP Director, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Robert Erikson, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University; and Markus Jäntti, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University.

Conference sessions included examination and discussion of the mechanisms behind intergenerational persistence and mobility in the United States and several other nations, including but not limited to the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden, and Finland. Topics covered included the effect of childhood poverty on future earnings and family income; the role of early childhood programs and family factors on child achievement; income-related gaps in school readiness; intergenerational wealth transfers and credit market constraints; the role of parents in occupational choice; and the role of social institutions in intergenerational mobility.

An edited volume based on conference presentations was published in September 2011: Persistence, Privilege, and Parenting: The Comparative Study of Intergenerational Mobility, eds. Timothy Smeeding, Robert Erikson, and Markus Jäntti, Russell Sage Foundation.