JBS Vol 22. Num 1. 2020 - Intergenerational Mobility and Inequality in Bangladesh and Selected Countries

This paper focuses on income inequality and intergenerational mobility in Bangladesh and selected countries. Using mainly the Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility, produced by the World Bank, the paper compares the performance of Bangladesh in absolute and relative mobility in education and income with selected countries. The paper also estimates simple and “augmented Gatsby equations” to examine the relationship between income inequality and relative mobility in education and income. The paper finds that Bangladesh has made significant progress in upward mobility in education, especially for girls. However, relative upward economic mobility in Bangladesh remains low. The paper also finds that income inequality has no significant impact on relative mobility in education among a cross-section of countries. However, the regression results for “Gatsby equations” support the hypotheses that a) as inequality rises, relative mobility in income falls, and b) as per capita income rises, relative mobility in income rises.