Education and Occupational Mobility: A Comparison of Polish and American Men

We use recent survey data to compare intergenerational mobility of Polish and American men. Father-to-son occupational mobility is considerably lower in Poland than in the United States, mainly because Poland has a large, traditional agricultural sector with high occupational inheritance. Furthermore, education, which is substantially affected by father's occupation in both countries, has a much larger effect on occupational attainment in Poland. This striking difference is not so surprising when one considers that the Polish educational system has stronger allocative powers, is more highly selective, and is differentiated laterally (into types) as well as vertically (into levels). When farmer's sons are excluded, the overall rate of mobility in Poland is similar to that in the United States. However, within the urban sector the direct effect of father's occupation on son's occupation almost disappears, while educational effects remain strong. So Polish urban mobility is almost completely filtered by the educational system.