Description:

Overview
In this course we examine key concepts related to the topic of intergenerational mobility. Although intergenerational (or social) mobility is a classic area of research in economics and sociology, there has been a significant increase in the number of new high-quality studies in recent years. Intergenerational mobility helps characterize inequality in a society and is related to the concept of inequality of opportunity (e.g., in achieving high income, good health, etc). We aim to understand to what degree there is immobility, why it occurs, and what can be done about the transmission of unfair advantages. The aim of this course is to enable students to understand key concepts in models, measurement and policy analysis, and to engage with the research frontier within this area. The course is an integration of theoretical economics, data analysis and econometric techniques.

Content
1. Models of intergenerational transmission
2. The measurement and description of mobility
3. Decomposition of transmission channels
4. Policy analysis
5. Applications

Formalities:

Grading and ECTS
Course grades will be based on a term paper (70% of the final grade) and a class presentation (30% of the final grade). Active participation during class is expected. 6 ECTS points are granted for this course, meaning you have to invest approximately 180 hours of workload into this course. A substantial part is for your individual reading of the required literature and for thoroughly preparing your term paper.

Material:

• Syllabus_Intergenerational_Mobility.pdf (128 Ki, Last change 12.09.2025)