Do grandparents matter? Educational inequality across three generations in Britain

Presenter: Min Zhang, The University of Manchester

Drawing on the British Panel Household Study and the UK Household Longitudinal Study, we examine educational inequalities over three generations and propose potential mechanisms through which grandparental effects operate. We find that the effects of grandparental class remain significant on the chance of grandchildren attaining university degrees after taking into account a wide range of parental characteristics including class, education, and wealth. Our study provides important insights into the mechanisms of the operation of grandparental effects. The evidence shows that (1) grandparental effects exist regardless of whether grandparents were alive or deceased; (2) grandparental effects do not change with the frequency of face-to-face contact; (3) grandparental effects disappear when grandparents are alive but have lost frequent contact in any forms with the offspring. The evidence suggests that the direct association between grandparents and grandchildren as complicated social process may work through more than one mechanism. Furthermore, we find that grandparental effects are significantly stronger on grandchildren originating from advantaged parents than on those from disadvantaged parents. In sum, this indicates strong persistence of inequalities across three generations in Britain. Without considering the influences of grandparents, the models would underestimate the effects of family origins and overestimate the social mobility rates. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the process of how family advantages are passed on over generations.