Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/335977 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18329
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Lacking lifetime income data, most intergenerational mobility estimates are subject to lifecycle bias. Using long income series from Sweden and the US, we illustrate that standard correction methods struggle to account for one important property of income processes: children from affluent families experience faster income growth, even conditional on their own characteristics. We propose a lifecycle estimator that captures this pattern and performs well across different settings. We apply the estimator to study mobility trends, including for recent cohorts that could not be considered in prior work. Despite rising income inequality, intergenerational mobility remained largely stable in both countries.
Subjects: 
intergenerational mobility
lifecycle bias
income processes
JEL: 
J62
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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