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We use longitudinal data on children and their parents to assess the extent of intergenerational mobility in Britain. Based on data from the National Child Development Survey, a cohort of all individuals born in a week of March 1958, we find that the extent of intergenerational mobility is limited. We report a clear intergenerational correlation between fathers and both sons and daughters in terms of labour market earnings and years of schooling. We also reveal an important asymmetry in intergenerational earnings mobility, with upward mobility from the bottom of the earnings distribution being more likely than downward mobility from the top.
Dearden et al. (1997) studied this question.