Trends in Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Canada

Using data from the General Social Survey (2011), this study examines trends in the intergenerational persistence in education in Canada for the birth cohorts 1940 through 1989. The study estimates a correlation coefficient between children's and fathers' number of years of education attained. The study finds that, over the period of study, the correlation coefficient increased slightly for sons while it decreased for daughters. Decomposition of the correlation coefficient shows that sons with less educated fathers are still very likely to be less educated. However, for daughters, there is less persistence at the lower end of fathers' education distribution.