Abstract

This paper confronts inter-generational social inheritance models from economics and sociology. In both discplines there is a broad consensus that social inheritance remains as strong today as ever and, yet, there are some indications that a few countries may have succeeded in diminishing the parental effect on opportunities. Our chief aim is to identify the causal mechanisms involved. We argue that they cannot lie in differences in education system but must be found primarily in the family milieu, especially in early childhood. We suggest that universal pre-school attendance is a powerful source of equalizing opportunities.