Vladimir Gimpelson

Thirty-five years ago, 29 countries from an area stretching from Central and Eastern Europe all the way to Central Asia began their transition away from socialism, embarking on diverse developmental paths. A key issue in the discussion about the long-term consequences of this transition concerns a simple question: have new generations become winners relative to the previous ones? Vladimir Gimpelson’s project (using microdata from all transitional countries) looks at beliefs about intergenerational change—subjective social mobility—in the living standards of households. By comparing their current welfare position relative to that of their parents (a retrospective estimate) and that of their children in the future (a prospective one), individuals de facto evaluate their intergenerational social mobility. Many interesting issues arise in relation to these questions: how perceptions relate to reality; how they are shaped; and how they affect various social and political behaviors.