corona

Sometimes you cannot make it on your own. How household background influences chances of success in Italy. A new GLO Discussion Paper by GLO Fellows Luca Bonacini, Giovanni Gallo & Sergio Scicchitano.

A new GLO Discussion Paper highlights that the level of parental education is more relevant than the level of parental occupational skill in individuals’ educational and social opportunities.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 832, 2021

Sometimes you cannot make it on your own. How household background influences chances of success in Italy Download PDF
by
Bonacini, Luca & Gallo, Giovanni & Scicchitano, Sergio

GLO Fellows Luca Bonacini, Giovanni Gallo & Sergio Scicchitano

Author Abstract: In this paper, we explore channels by which household background determines an individual’s educational and social opportunities in Italy. Our analysis relies on a rich dataset that contains data both on individuals and their real parents, as well as information on individuals’ non-cognitive skills. This paper also represents the first attempt to evaluate if and to what extent personality traits affect educational and occupational opportunities in Italy and how they interact with household background. The results highlight that the level of parental education is more relevant than the level of parental occupational skill in individuals’ educational and social opportunities. The inclusion of ‘Big-5’ variables in the model helps control for omitted variables and reduces the unobserved heterogeneity in intergenerational social mobility among individuals with the same level of education and skills. Our results depict a dual and unequal labour market.

Featured image: jude-beck-on-unsplash

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

Ends;