Tesis doctorales

This work intends to be part of the broader literature of intergenerational mobility, which studies the transmission of observed and unobserved characteristics over time and across different generations. The starting point of my thesis is the observation that the state-of-the-art points toward the necessity of considering more complex family structures beyond a simple parent-child relation since it appears that socioeconomic status is significantly more persistent than previously thought. Hence, I will study the drivers of multigenerational inequality by employing different identification and estimation strategies.

Either we may apply a "vertical approach", specifying links across generations, or an "horizontal" approach, where the degree of transmissions over generations is investigated through correlations among relatives of the same generation, e.g. cousins. Hence, the discrepancy over these two approaches may identify distinct channels of transmission across generations, in the hope to provide a credible interpretation of what determines long-run persistence in socioeconomic status.

Moreover, a relevant share of the literature relies on surnames to reconstruct links with past generations. Spain is peculiar in this sense as women do not change them after marriage. This enables us to study whether women are more or less sensitive to the family of origin in terms of educational or working outcomes in comparison to their male counterparts. Furthermore, it may deepen our understanding about their role in intergenerational transmission.

These ambitious targets entail equally demanding data requirements, such as relatively large samples with some degree of regional heterogeneity. A plausible solution would consist in the construction a novel panel dataset using different waves of administrative or census data from Spain. Again, the particular structure of Spanish naming, which contemplates a double surname, provides notable advantages. This may allow the estimation of intergenerational mobility in this country with a greater extent of precision.

To conclude, this work aims to deepen our knowledge about the determinants of inequality and intergenerational processes and Spain provides a perfect setting to conduct this analysis both for its peculiarities and for its social context.