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A Different Land of Opportunity: The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the Early Twentieth-Century United States

Hui Ren Tan

National University of Singapore

Journal of Labor Economics 2023

Has the geography of intergenerational mobility in the United States changed over time? Constructing a large historical linked sample, I show that upward mobility in the early twentieth century was greater for those who grew up in the coastal and industrial regions, in contrast to more recent times, where mobility is higher among persons who were raised in the middle of the country. The historical patterns are not driven by imperfections in record linkage or measurement error in economic status.

DOI
10.1086/718595
Volume
41 (1)
Pages
77-102
Language
en
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