La sangre se hereda, y la educación se apega: the role of educational transmission in relative social mobility in Mexico

Abstract

Exploring the influence of parental schooling background on their child’s educational opportunities and social mobility in Mexico provides valuable insights for equitable policy interventions. This work examines whether parents’ schooling years and possession of completion certificates have an impact on children’s high school and higher education enrollment and completion probabilities. The analysis was carried out using data from 2011 and 2017 ESRU-EMOVI surveys, both cross-sectional cohort data and random and nationally representative samples of the Mexican population. I use a probability approach employing Logit estimations to exploit the variation from 2011 to 2017 implementing controls such as socioeconomic status, child’s sex, and household size. The findings of this study highlight the significant positive impact of parents’ education background variables on children’s high school and higher education outcomes, with fathers' schooling showing a stronger influence in recent years. Moreover, higher socioeconomic levels play a crucial role, although its effect on high school enrollment probabilities has decreased in 2017 compared to 2011. As an extension of the study, I carry out further robustness checks and the results remain significant and consistent. Overall, while absolute social mobility is evident, the persistence in the relationship between parents' education and children's outcomes. underscores the ongoing challenges in achieving educational equity, particularly for individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. These results emphasize the need for specific policy actions to foster relative social mobility in education and support equal schooling opportunities in Mexico.