Early Life Origins of Intergenerational Mobility

A vast literature documents the relationship between a person’s health and financial wellbeing as adults, and the resources of their families as children. But for some people, of course, intergenerational mobility does occur, leading to better outcomes, and improved measures of health and wellbeing as adults. The goal of this project is to examine the early-life origins of intergenerational mobility. Understanding the factors mediating the relationship between parental and child wellbeing (in adulthood) can inform policy efforts to increase equality of opportunity in future generations even in the face of high income inequality at present. A wealth of recent work demonstrates that events and investments early in one’s life (or even before birth) have long-term consequences. Increasing income inequality in many OECD countries makes understanding the origins of intergenerational mobility and identifying early-life interventions that dampen the impacts of parental SES on child outcomes increasingly important for preserving mobility and opportunity.