An original study, published by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), on May 19, twists the neck of the idea that France would be “the” country of the reproduction of social inequalities. Statisticians have, for the first time, compared the 2018 income of adults aged 28 to that of their parents, ten years earlier, to measure the mobility of resources between generations. “Parents’ incomes, of course, strongly influence those of children, but are far from determining them entirely”write the authors.
Among the children of disadvantaged parents belonging to the 20% of the poorest households, a quarter are still part of the 28 years of age of the 40% of the wealthiest households and “12% have a very upward mobility and join the richest 20%”. By broadening the point of view, the study finds that 72% of children of modest parents earn more than they do. At the other end of the table, 15% of children of wealthy parents have downward mobility and find themselves, at age 28, among the 20% of the poorest households.
According to INSEE, those who have the greatest chance of improving their income compared to those of their parents are rather men, living in Ile-de-France and one of whose parents is a university graduate. The children of immigrants have a higher upward mobility than the average, 15% against 10%. Several factors could contribute to this: they more generally reside in large cities and dynamic territories offering more job opportunities; their parents have invested more intensively in their education… The study undermines another received idea, by noting that upward mobility is identical, at 19%, in Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest department in France , and in the Hauts-de-Seine, the richest.
“Efficient French model”
“These conclusions may seem contradictory with the feeling of social determinism, which is very strong in France compared to other countries”, explains, on the Insee blog, Michaël Sicsic, researcher on inequalities and poverty and co-author of the study. He refers to the publication, in June 2018, by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of a study widely taken up in the media and political discourse, which had struck people by affirming in particular that France “shows, in terms of labor income and social status, relatively low mobility compared to other countries”such as Spain, Greece, Portugal or Denmark.
You have 25.26% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.