Ordinal Variables and the Measurement of Upward and Downward Intergenerational Educational Mobility in European Countries

Abstract

This article proposes a new approach to the measurement of intergenerational mobility in education. Borrowing the concept of inequality‐sensitive and additive achievement measure axiomatically developed by Apouey et al., we derive new indices of upward, downward, and total mobility, using a “movement approach.” It turns out that the Prais‐Bibby and Bartholomew mobility indices are particular cases of the mobility indices we introduce. We then present an empirical illustration based on the 2016 European Social Survey. Particular attention is given to within country differences between fathers to children and mothers to children educational mobility. When comparing two countries, we also make a distinction between gross and net mobility, the latter referring to the case where country differences in the educational structure of parents and children are neutralized.