Trends of intergenerational transmission of education. Evidence from Colombia

Abstract: Inequalities among individuals can arise from different amounts of efforts and abilities or from circumstances that go beyond the control of the individual; opposite ethical and economical conclusions arise from these differences but the literature on inequality has often overlooked the issue. This thesis focuses on the concept of inequality of opportunity in its acceptation of intergenerational transmission of education, studying how parents’ and children’s education are related. The trends of intergenerational transmission of education is analysed in Colombia using data over a period of 40 years, from 1957 to 1996. Through the computation of eight different indices, the paper creates an exhaustive picture of the phenomenon that can distinguish between different trends in absolute and relative educational mobility. The main findings illustrate the high enhancements in terms of absolute mobility, but they also highlight the lack of improvements in the level of relative mobility. The increase in average schooling achievements in the last decades has permitted individuals to be on average more educated than their parents. Nevertheless, this has not changed their position in the distribution of educational achievements, meaning that individuals from disadvantaged families still face lower opportunities.