http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/041208/d041208b.htm

Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Parenting style, and the social resources available to parents, will become
increasingly important concerns if wealthy countries are to continue to
promote an agenda of equal opportunity, according to the new book
Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe.

Children in rich countries today are growing up in a very different world
than children a generation ago. But children still live in poverty, and
many countries have set explicit targets to reduce child poverty.

The book, part of the research program of Statistics Canada's Family and
Labour Studies Division, explores the premise that if children are raised
in a state of low income, there will be long-term consequences. Will they
become less than they otherwise could be, and indeed grow up to be poor
adults who in turn raise poor children?

The book examines what is known as "generational income mobility." This
term refers to the link between the socio-economic status of parents,
particularly their income, and the status and income that their children
will end up with in adulthood.

Understanding the extent of generational mobility is a first step in
understanding the consequences of income inequalities, as well as the
extent of "equality of opportunity."

This book contains a number of essays that analyze the degree of
generational income mobility in various wealthy countries, and offers
findings that may help to inform policy-makers.

It places the situation in Canada in an international context, and offers
comparable estimates of the degree of mobility, how it has changed through
time and the impact of government policy.

Its analysis suggests that future directions for social policy may not be
so much in the area of increased access to higher education. Rather, the
stress may be on circumstances much earlier in life that put individuals in
the fortunate situation of being able to choose whether to go on to higher
education.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data
quality of this release, contact Miles Corak (613-951-9047), Family and
Labour Studies Division, Statistics Canada. For more information about the
book Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe, or to
purchase a copy, visit the Cambridge University Press Web page
(www.cambridge.org).

-------------------
Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask]


To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the subject header --  to [log in to unmask]
SIGNOFF SDOH

DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU.

To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header.
SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname

To post a message to all 1000+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask]
Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant.

For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask]

To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to [log in to unmask]
SET SDOH DIGEST

To view the SDOH archives, go to: http://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html