Intergenerational Mobility Within and Across Nations Conference

September 2009, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Next fall, IRP will hold a working conference “Intergenerational Mobility Within and Across Nations: The Promise of Cross-National Research to Explain and Isolate the Factors that Enhance or Impede Mobility” at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Cosponsored by the European Commission, FP 6; the Russell Sage Foundation; and the PEW Charitable Trust, this conference is organized by Robert Erikson, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University; Markus Jäntti, Åbo Akademi University; and Timothy Smeeding, IRP Director, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Conference sessions will include examination and discussion of the mechanisms behind intergenerational persistence and mobility in the United States and several other nations, including but not limited to the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden, and Finland. Topics to be covered include the effect of childhood poverty on future earnings and family income; the role of early childhood programs and family factors on child achievement; income-related gaps in school readiness; intergenerational wealth transfers and credit market constraints; the role of parents in occupational choice; and the role of social institutions in intergenerational mobility.