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Occupational Choice across Generations

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Author Info
Amelie Constant
Klaus F. Zimmermann

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Abstract

There are few studies on occupational choices in Germany, and the second generation occupational choice and mobility is even less investigated. Such research is important because occupations determine success in the labor market. In a country like Germany occupations also reflect a general socio-economic standing. This paper looks at the patterns of employment in Germany, analyzes how individual men and women access jobs given their family background, and investigates why men and women have different occupational distributions. Based on the German Socio-Economic Panel we estimate multinominal logit models of occupational choice for the children of immigrants as well as for the natives. Our findings are surprisingly similar for both natives and immigrants. For both Germans and immigrants, we find that gender significantly and differentially affects occupational choice, and that individuals with more education choose higher ranking jobs. The role of experience is important for natives and qualified individuals only. Germans are more likely to choose occupations similar to their fathers’ occupation when their father is in the white collar or professional category. In stark contrast, the immigrants occupational choice is more influenced by their mother’s education and not by their fathers’ occupation.

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Paper provided by DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research in its series Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin with number 395.

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Length: 28 p.
Date of creation: 2004
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Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp395

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Related research
Keywords: Occupational choice; Intergenerational issues; Human capital; Migration;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D90 - Microeconomics - - Intertemporal Choice and Growth - - - General
F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Kenneth A. Couch & Thomas A. Dunn, 1995. "Intergenerational Correlations in Labor Market Status: A Comparison of the United States and Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 111, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
  2. Bauer, Thomas & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 1999. "Occupational Mobility of Ethnic Migrants," IZA Discussion Papers 58, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Black, Sandra & Devereux, Paul J. & Salvanes, Kjell G, 2003. "Why the Apple Doesn't Fall: Understanding Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital," CEPR Discussion Papers 4150, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Epstein, Gil S. & Lecker, Tikva, 2001. "Multi-Generation Model of Immigrant Earnings: Theory and Application," IZA Discussion Papers 275, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Constant, Amelie & Massey, Douglas S., 2003. "Labor Market Segmentation and the Earnings of German Guestworkers," IZA Discussion Papers 774, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  6. Zimmerman, David J, 1992. "Regression toward Mediocrity in Economic Stature," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 409-29, June.
  7. Michael Hout & Harvey S. Rosen, 1999. "Self-Employment, Family Background, and Race," NBER Working Papers 7344, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Schmidt, Peter & Strauss, Robert P, 1975. "The Prediction of Occupation Using Multiple Logit Models," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 16(2), pages 471-86, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Donna K. Ginther & Robert A. Pollak, 2003. "Does Family Structure Affect Children's Educational Outcomes?," NBER Working Papers 9628, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Solon, Gary, 1992. "Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 393-408, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2003. "Why the apple doesn't fall far: understanding intergenerational transmission of human capital," CeMMAP working papers CWP16/03, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Harper, Barry & Haq, Mohammad, 1997. "Occupational Attainment of Men in Britain," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 638-50, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Ermisch, John & Francesconi, Marco, 2000. "The Effect of Parents' Employment on Children's Educational Attainment," IZA Discussion Papers 215, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  14. Philip Oreopoulos & Marianne E. Page & Ann Huff Stevens, 2003. "Does Human Capital Transfer from Parent to Child? The Intergenerational Effects of Compulsory Schooling," NBER Working Papers 10164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Zimmermann, Klaus F., 1998. "German Job Mobility and Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 04, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  16. Ira N. Gang & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 1999. "Is Child Like Parent? Educational Attainment and Ethnic Origin," Departmental Working Papers 199614, Rutgers University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  17. Chiswick, Barry R, 1977. "Sons of Immigrants: Are They at an Earnings Disadvantage?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(1), pages 376-80, February.
  18. Behrman, Jere R & Taubman, Paul, 1990. "The Intergenerational Correlation between Children's Adult Earnings and Their Parents' Income: Result from the Michigan Panel Survey of Income Dynamics," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(2), pages 115-27, June.
  19. Boskin, Michael J, 1974. "A Conditional Logit Model of Occupational Choice," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 389-98, Part I, M. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Cristina Iannelli, 2002. "Parental Education and Young People's Educational and Labour Market Outcomes: A Comparison across Europe," MZES Working Papers 45, MZES. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Golo Henseke & Thusnelda Tivig, 2008. "Age, Occupations, and Opportunities for Older Workers in Germany," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 86, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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