American geography of opportunity reveals European origins

Summary, in English

A large literature documents how intergenerational mobility—the degree to which (dis)advantage is passed on from parents to children—varies across and within countries. Less is known about the origin or persistence of such differences. We show that US areas populated by descendants to European immigrants have similar levels of income equality and mobility as the countries their forebears came from: highest in areas dominated by descendants to Scandinavian and German immigrants, lower in places with French or Italian heritage, and lower still in areas with British roots. Similar variation in mobility is found for the black population and when analyzing causal place effects, suggesting that mobility differences arise at the community level and extend beyond descendants of European immigrant groups. Our findings indicate that the geography of US opportunity may have deeper historical roots than previously recognized.

• Author: Thor Berger; Per Engzell
• Department/s: Department of Economic History; Centre for Economic Demography
• Publishing year: 2019
• Language: English
• Pages: 6045-6050
• Publication/Series: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
• Volume: 116
• Issue: 13
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810893116
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Topic: Social and Economic Geography; Economic History
• Keywords: Great gatsby curve; Immigration; Income inequality; Intergenerational mobility; Melting pot
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0027-8424