We attended the 6th AMSE Summer School on Social Mobility and Inequalities at Aix-Marseille School of Economics in Marseille, France from June 16 to 18, 2025, as three Master’s students from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, thanks to the collaboration program that the master of quantitative economic analysis has with the Aix-Marseille University. Our goals were to deepen our methodological toolkit, engage with cutting-edge debates, and expand our professional network .Over the three days (9 a.m.–5 p.m.), our mornings were devoted to lectures by leading scholars and our afternoons to research presentations by PhD students and early-career researchers. Coffee breaks, lunches, and evening cultural visits, such as the Cosquer Cave museum, provided informal opportunities to discuss ideas and forge connections .
Day 1 (June 16): We heard Garance Genicot (Georgetown) unpack the “Great Gatsby Curve,” critiquing standard mobility measures and proposing new alternatives. In the afternoon, we learned about cross-border migration’s effects on mobility, market power’s role in redistribution, and the dynamics of brain drain .
Day 2 (June 17): Francisco H. G. Ferreira (LSE) explored “Inherited Inequality,” blending normative theory with empirical evidence. Our afternoon sessions covered the impact of paternal migration on children, educational mobility gaps, the Great Recession’s effect on aspirations, and France’s higher-education expansion .
Day 3 (June 18): Emmanuel Flachaire (AMU) presented a unified framework for measuring inequality and mobility, followed by Cecilia Garcia Peñalosa on employment polarization’s influence on intergenerational mobility. Final talks addressed historical servitude legacies, transfer-based inequality metrics, and how technological change shapes returns to skills .
We especially appreciated how the mix of rigorous theory and real-world applications, combined with diverse international perspectives, enriched our understanding. Informal networking, during breaks, dinners, and cultural outings, proved just as valuable as the formal sessions, reinforcing the importance of collaborative learning
By the end, we departed with deeper insights into social mobility and inequality, stronger academic contacts, and renewed motivation to pursue research and collaborations in this field.