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Barone & Mocetti (2016 working paper; 2021 Rev.

2026-06-15 · 15:01 UTC ·@aakashgupta ·0 min read

Brief

Barone & Mocetti (1427–2011) and Clark (2014) employ long‑run historical methods—archival reconstruction of Florentine tax and occupational records and surname‑based tracking—to quantify intergenerational mobility. Both sources argue that social status exhibits substantial persistence over many generations, demonstrating durable family-level inequality across centuries and places.

Why it matters

Barone & Mocetti (2016 working paper; 2021 Rev. Econ. Stud.) reconstruct intergenerational mobility in Florence from 1427–2011 using archival records (taxes, occupations) and document long-run persistence of social status across centuries.

Key details

  • Clark (2014) uses surname continuity across historical populations to measure social mobility over centuries and across countries, reporting strong persistence of family status in the long run.
Source evidence

Sources:

Barone, G., & Mocetti, S. (2021). Intergenerational Mobility in the Very Long Run: Florence 1427-2011. Review of Economic Studies, 88(4), 1863-1891.

Barone, G., & Mocetti, S. (2016). Intergenerational mobility in the very long run: Florence 1427-2011. Bank of Italy Working Paper No. 1060.

Clark, G. (2014). The Son Also Rises: Surnames and the History of Social Mobility. Princeton University Press.