This paper presents evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from agriculture to nonfarm sector using survey data from Nepal and Vietnam. In the absence of credible instruments, the degree of selection on observables is used as a guide to the degree of selection on unobservables a la Altonji et. al. (2005) to address the unobserved genetic correlations. The results show that intergenerational occupational mobility is lower among women in both countries, and is lower in Nepal compared to Vietnam. In case of Nepal, there is strong evidence in favor of a causal role played by mother's nonfarm participation in daughter's occupation choice, possibly because of cultural inheritance in a traditional society.