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BRIEF

What is the Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility (GDIM)?

  • Estimates of intergenerational mobility covering 153 economies for cohorts between 1940 and 1989. This translates to a world population coverage of 97 percent.
  • A response to a rising demand for cross-country comparable data on intergenerational mobility
  • A means to a richer intergenerational analysis of economic mobility

This database (GDIM) contains estimates of intergenerational mobility (IGM) by 10-year cohorts born between 1940 and 1990. For example, the generation born between 1980 and 1990 are referred to as the 1980s cohort, and parents refer to the parents of the generation of individuals of this cohort. Estimates of IGM are available for different choices of parental educational attainment (Mothers/Fathers/Average/Max) and child’s educational attainment (Sons/Daughters/All, individuals of the surveys). This allows us, for instance, to explore the relationship of mother to daughter IGM.

The GDIM is presented and analyzed in the World Bank research paper “Intergenerational Mobility around the World”. Preliminary findings are featured in the World Bank report titled Fair Progress?: Economic Mobility across Generations around the World. The GDIM description provides detailed documentation on the database.

Downloads:

GDIM dataset – 2023 March (CSV file, 5.5 mb)

Description of GDIM dataset – 2023 March (PDF file, 0.3 mb)

How to cite this database?

Users should refer to the database as the GDIM (Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility) and cite the database as “GDIM. 2023. Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility. Development Research Group, World Bank. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.”

Users should also cite the paper: “van der Weide, Roy; Lakner, Christoph; Mahler, Daniel Gerszon; Narayan, Ambar; Ramasubbaiah, Rakesh. 2023. Intergenerational mobility around the world: A new database. Journal of Development Economics, Vol 166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103167