Drivers of Mobility in the Global South

Abstract

Empirical studies in developing countries tend to find higher levels of socioeconomic persistence across generations compared with those of high-income economies. However, there have been relatively few advances in the identification of the drivers of such higher levels of intergenerational persistence. By focusing on relevant evidence from developing countries and emerging economies, this chapter points to some of the potential drivers of social mobility that are either outside those typically considered in high-income countries or likely to be of greater relevance in the developing world. The chapter builds on the standard model of intergenerational mobility to discuss the appropriateness of some of its assumptions in a developing-country context. It will then advance some suggestions for future theoretical and empirical investigations of social mobility in the Global South.