Francisco Ferreira on Inherited Inequality

When it comes to inheritance, prosperity and adversity are two sides of the same coin. Inheritance can allow parents to pass economic security and opportunity to their children. But inheritance can also transmit disadvantages. The children of low-income parents may live in under-resourced neighborhoods, attend low-performing schools, receive inadequate health care, and overall be offered limited pathways for mobility. So to what extent is inequality itself inherited? And how might that process differ around the world?

Francisco “Chico” Ferreira is the Amartya Sen Professor of Inequality Studies at the London School of Economics, where he is also Director of the International Inequalities Institute. Before that, he had a long career at the World Bank, including serving as Chief Economist for the Africa Region. In this episode, he discusses his work on rethinking how intergenerational mobility ought to be conceptualized with host Steven Durlauf, comparing how inherited inequality manifests differently in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Africa.