We study intergenerational educational mobility over a century during which the comprehensive Danish welfare state was rolled out. While mobility was low early in the 20th century,
schooling reforms benefiting children from disadvantaged backgrounds led to dramatic increases
in mobility for cohorts born in the 1940s through the 1960s. However, despite highly progressive education policies, the college and university expansion affecting cohorts born in the 1970s
and 1980s has mainly benefited children from affluent backgrounds, leading to rapidly declining mobility. Moreover, the link between schooling and skills has changed over the century,
with non-cognitive skills becoming an increasingly important component.