Trends in Absolute Income Mobility in North America and Europe
Author | : Robert Manduca |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : |
Release | : 2020 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:1195052550 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (50 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: We compute rates of absolute upward income mobility for the 1960-1987 birth cohorts in eight countries in North America and Europe. Rates and trends in absolute mobility varied dramatically across countries during this period: the US and Canada saw upward mobility rates near 50% for recent cohorts, while countries like Norway and Finland saw sustained rates above 70%. Decomposition analysis suggests that differences in the marginal income distributions, especially the amount of cross-cohort income inequality, were the primary driver of differing mobility rates across countries. We also demonstrate that absolute mobility rates can be accurately estimated without linked parent-child data.