Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/17723 
Year of Publication: 
2001
Series/Report no.: 
Kiel Working Paper No. 1046
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute of World Economics (IfW), Kiel
Abstract: 
This paper investigates social mobility in Bolivia and discusses its implications for poverty reduction and long-run growth. Regressions based on household survey data show that social mobility is very low in Bolivia, even by Latin American standards. This is mainly caused by an inadequate public education system, a high degree of assortative mating, and insufficient rural-urban migration. As a consequence, poverty tends to be fairly persistent over time. Moreover, low social mobility implies an inefficient use of innate talent and poor incentives for work and study. This prevents the Bolivian economy from reaching its potential growth rates. The paper provides several recommendations for policies to increase social mobility, thereby reducing poverty and increasing long-run growth.
Subjects: 
Social Mobility
Economic Growth
Public Policy
Bolivia
JEL: 
I32
E60
J13
J12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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