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It Runs in the Family: Occupational Choice and the Allocation of Talent

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  • Mattias Almgren
  • John Kramer
  • Jósef Sigurdsson

Abstract

Children tend to choose the same occupations as their parents. We examine the implications of this tendency for talent allocation and intergenerational mobility. Using Swedish data on skills and personality traits, we estimate a general equilibrium Roy model with unequal occupational access depending on parental background. Equalizing access halves occupational following and increases intergenerational earnings mobility by a third, benefiting low-income sons most. Exploiting long-run declines in fathers’ occupations, we find that reduced following improves sons’ skill-matching and raises earnings, aligning with our model. Our results suggest that facilitating more occupational mobility would increase intergenerational income mobility without reducing output.

Suggested Citation

  • Mattias Almgren & John Kramer & Jósef Sigurdsson, 2025. "It Runs in the Family: Occupational Choice and the Allocation of Talent," CESifo Working Paper Series 11808, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11808
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    occupational mobility; misallocation; roy model; comparative advantage.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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