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The grandparents effect in social mobility: evidence from British birth cohort studies

Chan, Tak Wing; Boliver, Vikki

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Authors

Tak Wing Chan



Abstract

Using data from three British birth cohort studies, we examine patterns of social mobility over three generations of family members. For both men and women, absolute mobility rates (i.e., total, upward, downward, and outflow mobility rates) in the partial parents-children mobility tables vary substantially by grandparents’ social class. In terms of relative mobility patterns, we find a statistically significant association between grandparents’ and grandchildren’s class positions, after parents’ social class is taken into account. The net grandparents-grandchildren association can be summarized by a single uniform association parameter. Net of parents’ social class, the odds of grandchildren entering the professional-managerial class rather than the unskilled manual class are at least two and a half times better if the grandparents were themselves in professional-managerial rather than unskilled manual-class positions. This grandparents effect in social mobility persists even when parents’ education, income, and wealth are taken into account.

Citation

Chan, T. W., & Boliver, V. (2013). The grandparents effect in social mobility: evidence from British birth cohort studies. American Sociological Review, 78(4), 662-678. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122413489130

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Aug 1, 2013
Deposit Date Dec 20, 2012
Publicly Available Date Jul 24, 2014
Journal American Sociological Review
Print ISSN 0003-1224
Electronic ISSN 1939-8271
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 78
Issue 4
Pages 662-678
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122413489130
Keywords Social mobility, Grandparents effect, Log-linear models, Prospective cohort studies.

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Copyright Statement
The final definitive version of this article has been published in the journal American Sociological Review, 78/4, 2013 © American Sociological Association 2013 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the American Sociological Review page: http://asr.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/




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