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Marital Sorting, Household Labor Supply, and Intergenerational Earnings Mobility across Countries

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Author Info

  • Oddbjørn Raaum

    (Frisch Centre)

  • Bernt Bratsberg

    (Frisch Centre)

  • Knut Røed

    (Frisch Centre)

  • Eva Österbacka

    (Ã…bo Akademi University)

  • Tor Eriksson

    (Aarhus University)

  • Markus Jäntti

    (Ã…bo Akademi University)

  • Robin A. Naylor

    (University of Warwick)

Abstract

We present comparable evidence on intergenerational earnings mobility for Denmark, Finland, Norway, the UK and the US, with a focus on the role of gender and marital status. We confirm that earnings mobility in the Nordic countries is typically greater than in the US and in the UK, but find that, in contrast to all other groups, for married women mobility is approximately uniform across countries when estimates are based on women's own earnings. Defining offspring outcomes in terms of family earnings, on the other hand, leads to estimates of intergenerational mobility in the Nordic countries which exceed those for the US and the UK for both men and women, single and married. Unlike in the Nordic countries, we find that married women with children and with husbands from affluent backgrounds tend to exhibit reduced labor supply in the US and the UK. In these countries, it is the combination of assortative mating and labor supply responses which weakens the association between married women's own earnings and their parents' earnings.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by De Gruyter in its journal The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy.

Volume (Year): 7 (2008)
Issue (Month): 2 ()
Pages: 7

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Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:7:y:2008:i:2:n:7

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Related research

Keywords: intergenerational mobility; marital sorting;

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References

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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Luc Arrondel & Nicolas Frémeaux, 2013. ""For richer, for poorer": savings preferences and choice of spouse," PSE Working Papers halshs-00786245, HAL.
  2. Raaum, Oddbjørn & Rogstad, Jon & Røed, Knut & Westlie, Lars, 2009. "Young and out: An application of a prospects-based concept of social exclusion," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 173-187, January.
  3. Black, Sandra & Devereux, Paul J., 2010. "Recent Developments in Intergenerational Mobility," CEPR Discussion Papers 7786, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  4. Berglann, Helge & Moen, Espen R & Roed, Knut & Skogstrøm, Jens Fredrik, 2009. "Entrepreneurship: Origins and Returns," CEPR Discussion Papers 7360, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  5. McIntosh, James & Munk, Martin D., 2009. "Social class, family background, and intergenerational mobility," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 107-117, January.
  6. Luc Arrondel & Nicolas Frémeaux, 2013. ""For richer, for poorer": savings preferences and choice of spouse," Working Papers halshs-00786245, HAL.
  7. Regina Flake, 2011. "Gender Differences in the Intergenerational Earnings Mobility of Second-Generation Migrants," Ruhr Economic Papers 0283, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
  8. Bratsberg, Bernt & Raaum, Oddbjørn & Røed, Knut, 2011. "Educating Children of Immigrants: Closing the Gap in Norwegian Schools," IZA Discussion Papers 6138, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  9. Quheng, Deng & Gustafsson, Björn Anders & Li, Shi, 2012. "Intergenerational Income Persistency in Urban China," IZA Discussion Papers 6907, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

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