Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SIBMOB (Social Class Mobility in Comparative Perspective: Bringing Siblings In)
Reporting period: 2022-08-01 to 2024-01-31
Governments everywhere want people to have equal chances to move up in life, no matter their background. This idea is called "social mobility," and it is something experts have been studying for a long time. They compare how easy it is to move up the social ladder in different countries and how this has changed over time. The SIBMOB project is diving deep into this topic, but with a unique twist: we focus on siblings.
Why siblings? Well, they grow up in the same house, with the same parents and often in the same community. They even share some of their genes. But as anyone with a sibling knows, brothers and sisters can be very different. They might have different talents, interests, or ideas about life. They also vary in terms of gender, birth order, the friends they hang out with, or the schools they attend.
This is the key insight: SIBMOB uses these similarities and differences between siblings to measure how much your family background affects where you end up in life. Basically, if siblings from the same family often end up in similar social classes as adults, that suggests family background plays a big role. On the other hand, if siblings wind up in very different social classes, family influence might not be as strong as we thought.
To dig into this, SIBMOB uses new techniques to study siblings' social class positions as adults. We are pulling in data from more than 10 countries to explore whether family background holds more or less weight depending on where you are from. We are also looking into if the influence of family background has changed over the past 100 years.
In summary, SIBMOB aims to uncover how your family's status can shape your life. By looking at siblings who grew up in the same environment but took different paths, we are unlocking clues about the real power of family influence. The ultimate goal is to use this information to help governments create policies that ensure that everyone has a fair shot at success, no matter where they started in life.
Why siblings? Well, they grow up in the same house, with the same parents and often in the same community. They even share some of their genes. But as anyone with a sibling knows, brothers and sisters can be very different. They might have different talents, interests, or ideas about life. They also vary in terms of gender, birth order, the friends they hang out with, or the schools they attend.
This is the key insight: SIBMOB uses these similarities and differences between siblings to measure how much your family background affects where you end up in life. Basically, if siblings from the same family often end up in similar social classes as adults, that suggests family background plays a big role. On the other hand, if siblings wind up in very different social classes, family influence might not be as strong as we thought.
To dig into this, SIBMOB uses new techniques to study siblings' social class positions as adults. We are pulling in data from more than 10 countries to explore whether family background holds more or less weight depending on where you are from. We are also looking into if the influence of family background has changed over the past 100 years.
In summary, SIBMOB aims to uncover how your family's status can shape your life. By looking at siblings who grew up in the same environment but took different paths, we are unlocking clues about the real power of family influence. The ultimate goal is to use this information to help governments create policies that ensure that everyone has a fair shot at success, no matter where they started in life.
We have been working on three big parts in our research project.
Methods: We are pioneering methods to study social mobility among siblings. We have created specialized statistical software that can handle complex sibling data. This software is made publicly available for the broader research community. Furthermore, we have formulated new statistical approaches that provide a nuanced understanding of how siblings end up in similar or differing social classes as adults. These advancements are academically rigorous and have been published in peer-reviewed international journals.
Data: We have compiled a large, cross-national database featuring siblings’ social class positions, along with information about their upbringing and parents. The dataset incorporates over 20 data sets from 11 different countries, representing more than 400,000 siblings. Additionally, we have captured country-level variables like inequality and educational expenditure for more contextual analysis. Our database construction process is both transparent and replicable, enabling other researchers to build upon our work.
Analyses: We are actively engaged in eight specific research projects:
(1) We are investigating the social class mobility of siblings across nine industrialized countries. Preliminary findings suggest that siblings exhibit surprisingly little variation in mobility across countries, a result that has significant theoretical implications. We have presented this work at a major international research conference in Paris.
(2) We are currently in the initial stages of a study that examines the influence of marital status and gender on siblings' socio-economic similarities. The study is based on data from the United States and Denmark.
(3) Using our newly developed methods, we are investigating the educational paths chosen by siblings. Early findings indicate that the likelihood of siblings going to college is higher in families where parents are well-educated and married.
(4) We have explored whether similarities in siblings’ occupations and income are due to the same or different family characteristics. Data from Denmark and the United States show that occupation and income are affected by largely the same family characteristics. We have published a paper on this in 2023 in a peer-reviewed international journal.
(5) We are investigating how family background impacts income throughout different stages of a career of a person’s life. We have published a working paper on this in 2023.
(6) Collaborating with a professor from the University of Pennsylvania, we are using historical census and survey data to track changes in siblings' educational attainment in the U.S. throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. This long-term perspective will offer insights into how social policies have impacted educational opportunities over time.
(7) We are using rich administrative data from Denmark to investigate how the financial benefits of different college programs are influenced by family background and the educational paths chosen by parents. For instance, are siblings more financially successful when they choose the same educational paths as their parents? We have published a working paper on this in 2023.
(8) We are examining how stable or unstable siblings' financial careers are in Denmark, Germany, and the United States. We are the first ever to examine sibling similarities in how much one’s income fluctuates over one’s working career. We find that siblings show more similarity in the United States than in Germany and Denmark, suggesting that family background is more associated with income instability in countries with more inequality.
These eight projects collectively aim to deepen our understanding of the various ways in which family background influences social mobility, and they have the potential to significantly impact both academic theory and social policy.
Methods: We are pioneering methods to study social mobility among siblings. We have created specialized statistical software that can handle complex sibling data. This software is made publicly available for the broader research community. Furthermore, we have formulated new statistical approaches that provide a nuanced understanding of how siblings end up in similar or differing social classes as adults. These advancements are academically rigorous and have been published in peer-reviewed international journals.
Data: We have compiled a large, cross-national database featuring siblings’ social class positions, along with information about their upbringing and parents. The dataset incorporates over 20 data sets from 11 different countries, representing more than 400,000 siblings. Additionally, we have captured country-level variables like inequality and educational expenditure for more contextual analysis. Our database construction process is both transparent and replicable, enabling other researchers to build upon our work.
Analyses: We are actively engaged in eight specific research projects:
(1) We are investigating the social class mobility of siblings across nine industrialized countries. Preliminary findings suggest that siblings exhibit surprisingly little variation in mobility across countries, a result that has significant theoretical implications. We have presented this work at a major international research conference in Paris.
(2) We are currently in the initial stages of a study that examines the influence of marital status and gender on siblings' socio-economic similarities. The study is based on data from the United States and Denmark.
(3) Using our newly developed methods, we are investigating the educational paths chosen by siblings. Early findings indicate that the likelihood of siblings going to college is higher in families where parents are well-educated and married.
(4) We have explored whether similarities in siblings’ occupations and income are due to the same or different family characteristics. Data from Denmark and the United States show that occupation and income are affected by largely the same family characteristics. We have published a paper on this in 2023 in a peer-reviewed international journal.
(5) We are investigating how family background impacts income throughout different stages of a career of a person’s life. We have published a working paper on this in 2023.
(6) Collaborating with a professor from the University of Pennsylvania, we are using historical census and survey data to track changes in siblings' educational attainment in the U.S. throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. This long-term perspective will offer insights into how social policies have impacted educational opportunities over time.
(7) We are using rich administrative data from Denmark to investigate how the financial benefits of different college programs are influenced by family background and the educational paths chosen by parents. For instance, are siblings more financially successful when they choose the same educational paths as their parents? We have published a working paper on this in 2023.
(8) We are examining how stable or unstable siblings' financial careers are in Denmark, Germany, and the United States. We are the first ever to examine sibling similarities in how much one’s income fluctuates over one’s working career. We find that siblings show more similarity in the United States than in Germany and Denmark, suggesting that family background is more associated with income instability in countries with more inequality.
These eight projects collectively aim to deepen our understanding of the various ways in which family background influences social mobility, and they have the potential to significantly impact both academic theory and social policy.
The SIBMOB project is pioneering research into social class mobility among siblings, an area that has not been deeply studied before. To carry out this groundbreaking work, we have developed innovative research methods and assembled an extensive dataset that includes information about siblings from various countries. Currently, we are rigorously analyzing this data to discern whether some countries offer better opportunities for social mobility than others, and to understand how these opportunities might have changed over the course of the 20th century.
Our approach is multifaceted. Beyond simply crunching numbers, we are constructing a comprehensive framework to explore numerous factors that can affect one's social mobility. By the project's conclusion, we anticipate delivering a thorough, nuanced understanding of siblings' social class mobility. We aim to provide substantive evidence on how and why social mobility differs across countries and time. Additionally, we plan to present insights into tangential yet crucial questions, such as how marriage or education can act as catalysts for social mobility.
The implications of our findings are expected to be significant, not just for academic theories that seek to explain social mobility, but also for policy considerations aimed at enhancing equal opportunities in society. In essence, the SIBMOB project is set to offer invaluable contributions to our understanding of social mobility by creating a robust, interdisciplinary framework that goes beyond the current state of research.
Our approach is multifaceted. Beyond simply crunching numbers, we are constructing a comprehensive framework to explore numerous factors that can affect one's social mobility. By the project's conclusion, we anticipate delivering a thorough, nuanced understanding of siblings' social class mobility. We aim to provide substantive evidence on how and why social mobility differs across countries and time. Additionally, we plan to present insights into tangential yet crucial questions, such as how marriage or education can act as catalysts for social mobility.
The implications of our findings are expected to be significant, not just for academic theories that seek to explain social mobility, but also for policy considerations aimed at enhancing equal opportunities in society. In essence, the SIBMOB project is set to offer invaluable contributions to our understanding of social mobility by creating a robust, interdisciplinary framework that goes beyond the current state of research.