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Trends in the Transitory Variance of Earnings: Evidence from Sweden 1960-1990 and a Comparison with the United States

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Author Info
Gustavsson, Magnus () (Department of Economics)

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Abstract

I decompose the cross-sectional variance of male annual earnings in Sweden between 1960 and 1990 into permanent and transitory components. The transitory variance increased until the early 1970s, declined during the remainder of the decade and then rose again during the second half of the 1980s. The permanent variance declined over the whole sample period but its decrease was much more rapid up until the early 1980s than afterwards. Comparing the results for the transitory variance with evidence from the U.S. reveals sharp differences. Most notably, the transitory variance of U.S. earnings rose sharply from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. An important explanation for these dissimilarities appears to be labor market institutions. In particular, it is likely that centralized solidarity bargaining in Sweden imposed constraints on earnings instability during the 1970s and early 1980s.

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Paper provided by Uppsala University, Department of Economics in its series Working Paper Series with number 2004:11.

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Length: 63 pages
Date of creation: 08 Jun 2004
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Publication status: Published in Review of Income and Wealth, 2008, pages 324-349.
Handle: RePEc:hhs:uunewp:2004_011

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Postal: Department of Economics, Uppsala University, P. O. Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
Phone: + 46 18 471 25 00
Fax: + 46 18 471 14 78
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Related research
Keywords: Earnings dynamics; Earnings inequality; Panel data;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
J39 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Other

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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. Lindquist, Matthew J. & Böhlmark, Anders, 2005. "Life-Cycle Variations in the Association between Current and Lifetime Income: Country, Cohort and Gender Comparisons," Working Paper Series 4/2005, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
  2. Aedin Doris & Donal O’Neill & Olive Sweetman, 2008. "Does Growth Affect the Nature of Inequality? Ireland 1994-2001," Economics, Finance and Accounting Department Working Paper Series n1930708.pdf, Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, National University of Ireland - Maynooth. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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