The American dream revisited: intergenerational education mobility in immigrant households

Abstract

This study uses American Community Survey microdata from 2005 to 2019 to investigate the interactive effect of parents’ education and immigrant status on their children’s economic and education outcomes. We find a significant positive correlation between the education achievements of parents and those of their children, which diminishes for immigrant parents. However, the low transmissibility likely reflects the upward mobility of immigrant children, who may surpass their parents’ and native children’s education levels, despite starting from similar or lower educational baselines. The influence of immigrant parents’ education on their children’s outcomes is complex, involving parental nurturing, pecuniary constraints, socioeconomic disparities, foreign credential non‑recognition, language barriers and cultural hurdles. Our findings present a nuanced picture. While the translation of educational mobility into broader economic mobility remains incomplete, there is a positive association between educational mobility and labor income mobility. Importantly, the analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity across immigrant subgroups. Distinct patterns emerge between immigrants from developed and developing countries, and intergenerational mobility outcomes also vary by parental race—particularly in families with Black fathers. These findings shed light on the challenges and implications of immigrant parents’ education for their children’s outcomes and emphasize the need to address these unique obstacles to secure the success of future generations.