IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v138y2018i2d10.1007_s11205-017-1670-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Limited Income Mobility: Empirical Evidence from Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Hyungna Oh

    (Kyung Hee University)

  • Yun Jeong Choi

    (Yonsei University)

Abstract

Using the Korea Labor and Income Panel Study from 1998 to 2010, we measure income mobility and determinants of income ranks and mobility. Empirical outcomes reveal that income mobility is quite limited for both the poorest and the richest income households. Moreover, a macro economic shock had heterogeneous impacts on each income group and the low-income class was highly vulnerable to it. Given the long-lasting impacts of early stage factors and initial endowment on income, this paper calls for policies to support citizens suffering from illness, family breakdown, poor initial conditions, and aging.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyungna Oh & Yun Jeong Choi, 2018. "Limited Income Mobility: Empirical Evidence from Korea," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(2), pages 665-687, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:138:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1670-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1670-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-017-1670-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-017-1670-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Gottschalk & Enrico Spolaore, 2002. "On the Evaluation of Economic Mobility," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 69(1), pages 191-208.
    2. Peter Gottschalk & Robert Moffitt, 2009. "The Rising Instability of U.S. Earnings," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(4), pages 3-24, Fall.
    3. Luis Ayala & Mercedes Sastre, 2004. "Europe vs. the United States: is there a trade-off between mobility and inequality?," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 13(1-2), pages 4-4, March-Jun.
    4. Stephen P. Jenkins & Philippe Van Kerm, 2006. "Trends in income inequality, pro-poor income growth, and income mobility," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 531-548, July.
    5. Aaberge, Rolf, et al, 2002. "Income Inequality and Income Mobility in the Scandinavian Countries Compared to the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 48(4), pages 443-469, December.
    6. Maury Gittleman & Mary Joyce, 1999. "Have family income mobility patterns changed?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 36(3), pages 299-314, August.
    7. Bradbury,Bruce & Jenkins,Stephen P. & Micklewright,John (ed.), 2001. "The Dynamics of Child Poverty in Industrialised Countries," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521803106.
    8. Richard Hauser & Holger Fabig, 1999. "Labor Earnings And Household Income Mobility In Reunified Germany: A Comparison Of The Eastern And Western States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 45(3), pages 303-324, September.
    9. Gary S. Field & Robert Duval Hernandez & Samuel Freije & Maria Laura Sanchez Puerta, 2007. "Intragenerational Income Mobility in Latin America," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 101-154, January.
    10. Hauser, Richard & Fabig, Holger, 1999. "Labor Earnings and Household Income Mobility in Reunified Germany: A Comparison of the Eastern and Western States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 45(3), pages 303-324, September.
    11. Hungerford, Thomas L, 1993. "U.S. Income Mobility in the Seventies and Eighties," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 39(4), pages 403-417, December.
    12. Robert Carroll & David Joulfaian & Mark Rider, 2006. "Income Mobility: The Recent American Experience," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0620, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    13. Katharine L. Bradbury & Jane Katz, 2002. "Issues in economics: are lifetime incomes growing more unequal?: looking at new evidence on family income mobility," Regional Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, vol. 12(Q 4), pages 2-5.
    14. Thomas L. Hungerford, 2011. "How Income Mobility Affects Income Inequality: US Evidence in the 1980s and the 1990s," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 20(1), pages 117-126, March.
    15. Peter Gottschalk & Sheldon Danziger, 1999. "Income Mobility and Exits from Poverty of American Children, 1970-1992," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 430, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 15 Feb 2001.
    16. Rolf Aaberge & Anders Björklund & Markus Jäntti & Mårten Palme & Peder J. Pedersen & Nina Smith & Tom Wennemo, 2002. "Income Inequality and Income Mobility in the Scandinavian Countries Compared to the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 48(4), pages 443-469, December.
    17. Jenkins, Stephen P., 2011. "Changing Fortunes: Income Mobility and Poverty Dynamics in Britain," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199226436.
    18. Esfandiar Maasoumi & Mark Trede, 2001. "Comparing Income Mobility In Germany And The United States Using Generalized Entropy Mobility Measures," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 551-559, August.
    19. Gernandt, Johannes, 2009. "Decreasing wage mobility in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-044, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    20. Katharine L. Bradbury, 2011. "Trends in U. S. family income mobility, 1969-2006," Working Papers 11-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    21. Auten, Gerald & Gee, Geoffrey, 2009. "Income Mobility in the United States: New Evidence From Income Tax Data," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 62(2), pages 301-328, June.
    22. Fields, Gary S. & Sánchez Puerta, María Laura, 2010. "Earnings Mobility in Times of Growth and Decline: Argentina from 1996 to 2003," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 870-880, June.
    23. Fields, Gary S & Ok, Efe A, 1999. "Measuring Movement of Incomes," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 66(264), pages 455-471, November.
    24. Wojciech Kopczuk & Emmanuel Saez & Jae Song, 2010. "Earnings Inequality and Mobility in the United States: Evidence from Social Security Data Since 1937," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 91-128.
    25. Bradbury,Bruce & Jenkins,Stephen P. & Micklewright,John (ed.), 2001. "The Dynamics of Child Poverty in Industrialised Countries," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521004923.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Athiphat Muthitacharoen & Trongwut Burong & Athiphat Muthitacharoen, 2023. "Climbing the Economic Ladder: Earnings Inequality and Intragenerational Mobility among Thai Formal Workers," CESifo Working Paper Series 10202, CESifo.
    2. Ashley Pullman & Britta Gauly & Clemens M. Lechner, 2021. "Short-term earnings mobility in the Canadian and German context: the role of cognitive skills," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 55(1), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Muthitacharoen, Athiphat & Burong, Trongwut, 2023. "Climbing the economic ladder: Earnings inequality and intragenerational mobility among Thai formal workers," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Markus Jäntti & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2013. "Income Mobility," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 607, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    2. Riphahn, Regina T. & Schnitzlein, Daniel D., 2016. "Wage mobility in East and West Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 11-34.
    3. Jenkins, Stephen P. & van Kerm, Philippe, 2011. "Trends in individual income growth: measurement Methods and British evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 58209, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Gulgun Bayaz-Ozturk & Richard V. Burkhauser & Kenneth A. Couch, 2014. "Consolidating The Evidence On Income Mobility In The Western States Of Germany And The United States From 1984 To 2006," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(1), pages 431-443, January.
    5. Aart Kraay & Roy Weide, 2022. "Measuring intragenerational mobility using aggregate data," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 273-314, June.
    6. Mehtabul Azam, 2022. "Household income mobility in India, 1993–2011," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 1902-1943, November.
    7. Yonatan Berman, 2022. "Absolute intragenerational mobility in the United States, 1962–2014," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(3), pages 587-609, September.
    8. Katharine L. Bradbury, 2011. "Trends in U. S. family income mobility, 1969-2006," Working Papers 11-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    9. Stephen P. Jenkins & Philippe Van Kerm, 2016. "Assessing Individual Income Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(332), pages 679-703, October.
    10. Garnero, Andrea & Hijzen, Alexander & Martin, Sébastien, 2019. "More unequal, but more mobile? Earnings inequality and mobility in OECD countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 26-35.
    11. Katharine L. Bradbury, 2016. "Levels and trends in the income mobility of U.S. families, 1977−2012," Working Papers 16-8, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    12. Aristei, David & Perugini, Cristiano, 2015. "The drivers of income mobility in Europe," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 197-224.
    13. Louis Chauvel & Anne Hartung & Flaviana Palmisano, 2017. "Dynamics of Income Rank Volatility: Evidence from Germany and the US," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 926, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    14. Birgitta Jansson, 2014. "Intragenerational Income Mobility in Gothenburg, Sweden, 1925–94: Before, during, and after the Rise of the Welfare State," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 54(1), pages 14-36, March.
    15. Rolf Aaberge & Magne Mogstad, 2014. "Income mobility as an equalizer of permanent income," Discussion Papers 769, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    16. Stephen P. Jenkins & Philippe Van Kerm, 2006. "Trends in income inequality, pro-poor income growth, and income mobility," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 531-548, July.
    17. Magali Duque & Abigail McKnight, 2019. "Understanding the relationship between inequalities and poverty: a review of dynamic mechanisms," CASE Papers /217, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    18. Mario Alloza, 2021. "The impact of taxes on income mobility," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(4), pages 794-854, August.
    19. Rolf Aaberge & Magne Mogstad, 2015. "Inequality in current and lifetime income," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 44(2), pages 217-230, February.
    20. Gulgun Bayaz-Ozturk & Richard V. Burkhauser & Kenneth A. Couch, 2012. "Consolidating the Evidence on Income Mobility in the Western States of Germany and the U.S. from 1984-2006," NBER Working Papers 18618, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intragenerational mobility; Income elasticity; Poverty; Korea;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:138:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1670-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.