Economics in a picture

Over the past few decades, Portugal has experienced a strong increase in skills. An important issue is the extent to which the parents’ education level influences the education acquired by their descendants, i.e. the extent to which there is an intergenerational transmission of education. According to the ad hoc module of the 2019 Survey on Income and Living Conditions, there is a strong intergenerational transmission of education in Portugal. Around 73% of individuals whose parents had attained tertiary education also completed their tertiary education. In contrast, less than 20% of individuals whose parents had attained up to basic education obtained a tertiary level of education. 

One factor influencing the intergenerational transmission of education is the households’ financial situation. Considering individuals with a bad financial situation when they were 14 years old and whose parents had attained up to basic education, only 10% completed tertiary education. This value rises to 27% when their financial situation was good, for the same level of education of the parents. Portugal is among the European countries where the impact of the financial situation on educational pathways is highest. 

For more details see the box “The intergenerational transmission of education in Portugal”, published in the May 2022 Economic Bulletin. 

Prepared by Nuno Alves. The analyses, opinions and findings expressed above represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Banco de Portugal or the Eurosystem.

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