American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Careers and Intergenerational Income Mobility
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 17,
no. 1, January 2025
(pp. 431–58)
Abstract
This paper uses census microdata linked with tax records to quantify the contribution of occupations to intergenerational income mobility. We document substantial segregation into occupations by parental income. Children of high-income parents are significantly more likely to pursue high-paying and more desirable occupations. Since parents may pass on their occupations to their children, we further describe patterns of intergenerational occupational following and show they vary substantially across occupations, with low-income occupations showing more persistence across generations on average. Yet, occupational persistence plays a limited role for income mobility, explaining only 10 percent of the income rank-rank relationship.Citation
Haeck, Catherine, and Jean-William Laliberté. 2025. "Careers and Intergenerational Income Mobility." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 17 (1): 431–58. DOI: 10.1257/app.20230403Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J62 Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
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