Long‑run mobility differs from short‑run measures

A study tracking rare surnames across many generations finds that status persistence can be much stronger than estimates derived from parent–child income correlations. Clark argues a slowly decaying, inheritable 'social competence' explains why short‑term studies understate persistence and why mobility rates look similar across diverse societies. — If long‑run persistence is real, it shifts policy focus from one‑generation interventions to multigenerational strategies and reframes debates over the roles of inheritance, culture, and discrimination.