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Capital and Labor Income Mobility

Author

Listed:
  • Marco Ranaldi
  • Joël Bühler
  • Roberto Iacono
  • Mathias Bühler

Abstract

This article investigates whether capital or labor income drives overall relative income mobility. To this aim, we use Norwegian income registers covering 293,875 individuals over 26 years. A new framework decomposes total income mobility into capital and labor components across the life cycle. Results show: (1) traditional capital and labor mobility measures yield no clear factor ordering; (2) upward mobility is driven by labor income and joint upward movements; and (3) downward mobility is driven by capital income and joint declines. Findings are robust to large jumps, income definition and cohort selection.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Ranaldi & Joël Bühler & Roberto Iacono & Mathias Bühler, 2026. "Capital and Labor Income Mobility," CESifo Working Paper Series 12651, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12651
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    14. Marco Ranaldi, 2022. "Income Composition Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 139-160, March.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D33 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Factor Income Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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