Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/223898 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13456
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
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.
Subjects: 
absolute intergenerational mobility
income
international comparison
JEL: 
J62
D31
P52
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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