Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in India:Patterns Determinants and Implication

Author : S Goutham

Abstract : Intergenerational occupational mobility is a more comprehensive measure of both egalitarian opportunities as well as structuring change in developing economies, in particular, India. Despite the fact that the nation has enjoyed consistent economic growth and associated increases in the level of education, there is still doubt as to whether the gains in these sectors are actually leading to enhanced upward occupational mobility within consecutive generations. The current study evaluates how gender and education levels affect intergenerational career movements in India, and at the same time examines the employment and sector transition patterns over a period of twenty-five years. The analysis uses synthetic cohort methods and transition matrices to construct long term mobility patterns in the absence of longitudinal panel statistics based on nationally representative data on Employment and Unemployment Surveys 19992000 and 20112012, as well as Periodic Labour Force Survey 202324. Findings have shown a sharp decline in illiteracy and a smaller educational gender gap in newer cohorts and that there has also been a gradual shift towards service-sector jobs and away again towards agricultural jobs. However, it remains that occupational mobility is largely restricted to informal and low-skill jobs with little redistribution to professional and high-skilled jobs. Women respondents have cited great improvements in wage-based regular jobs, but departmental barriers to labour-market access are also present. Taken in combination, the results highlight the substantive role of gender and educational attainment in mobility patterns and explain persistent disparities and highlight the urgency of policy changes that will bring the educational achievement of women to the same level and employment opportunities on a larger, formal scale

Keywords : Intergenerational Mobility, gender, education, labour market, occupation.

Conference Name : International Conference on Labor Economics and Wage Policies (ICLEWP-26)

Conference Place : Chennai, India

Conference Date : 14th Feb 2026