I will present my broad research agenda on spatial sorting with a particular focus on "Why does birthplace matter so much? Sorting, learning and geography" (joint with Henry Overman), a paper that documents spatial sorting at birth, lifetime (im)mobility and the mechanisms through which birthplace affects wages. Our results suggest that intergenerational transmission (sorting) and the effect of birthplace on current location (geography) both play a role in explaining the effect of birthplace. We find no role for human capital formation at least in terms of educational outcomes (learning). Our results highlight the importance of intergenerational sorting in helping explain the persistence of spatial disparities.