Class, literacy and social mobility: Madrid, 1880–1905

ABSTRACT Relying on an extremely rich data set of individuals living in Madrid in 1880 and 1905, this article explores the relationship between class, literacy and social mobility. Focusing on children, we find that the probability of being literate varied significantly according to parents’ socio-economic status. Although this social gap declined during the period under study, it was still substantial in 1905. We also show that, although the expansion of the supply of schools improved the literacy rates of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, the public effort was clearly insufficient to overcome the challenges these families faced. Lastly, matching the children existing in our sample in 1880 with their corresponding adult-selves in 1905, our analysis shows that getting literate enhanced their chances of moving up the social ladder.