The heavy backpack of class origins.: Schooling and intergenerational class mobility in Argentina, Chile and Mexico

Abstract

We analyze the role of schooling on intergenerational class mobility in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. In order to understand the role of schooling it is important to identify its effects as mediator, equalizer and attenuator. We specify, both conceptually and methodologically, these effects and generate empirical indicators for them, using data from national mobility surveys. Our findings indicate that schooling is a powerful mediator in the three countries. However, there are variations between countries in the role of schooling as equalizer and there is no evidence of a significant role as attenuator of the association between class origins and destinations. This suggests that any simplistic interpretation of the effects of schooling on class mobility in Latin America is confronted by a more complex reality, in which schooling is surely an important intervening variable, but has a limited contribution in neutralizing the effects of class origins on class destinations.