The paper estimates the degree of intergenerational earnings persistence in South Africa. It explores the link
between this measure of social mobility and an index of inequality of opportunity. Using microdata from the
National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), the paper finds that intergenerational earnings mobility in South Africa is
low. In addition, a limited set of inherited circumstances explains a significant fraction of earnings inequality among
male adults. Adding South Africa to the existing international literature supports the hypothesis that low levels of
intergenerational mobility and equality of opportunity are emblematic of high-inequality emerging economies.