Evolution of intergenerational mobility in Norway between 1900 and 1945

Abstract

The 1900s were a century of remarkable changes in the Norwegian society. In socioeconomic terms, Norway went from being a country around the European average, to becoming one of the richest countries in the world with a highly developed welfare system. This thesis investigates the evolution of intergenerational mobility in education and occupation for men born in the first half of the century. Using survey data collected between 1957 and 1973, I estimate intergenerational coefficients for men born between 1900 and 1945, along with occupational distribution. I find that in terms of intergenerational mobility in educational attainment, the Norwegian society witnesses a slowly increasing trend over the first 40 years, however, making a remarkable jump between 1930s and the early 1940s. Thus, after having a substantially higher persistence in education between fathers and sons than the U.S. in the 1930s, Norway reach the U.S. level in a time span of 10 years, before levelling off around the West-European average for the rest of the century. I find that one of the main driving forces behind this increase in intergenerational mobility, is increased upward mobility among sons of lower educated father. In terms of intergenerational mobility in occupation, I find increased rates of mobility between those born between the early 1900s and the early 1920s, however constant for the remaining cohorts. These results are consistent with previous research, and solidifies the argument that the high degrees of intergenerational mobility in Norway was a result of developments in the mid-1900s.