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Rising Occupational and Industry Mobility in the United States: 1968-1993

Author

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  • Kambourov, Gueorgui

    (University of Toronto)

  • Manovskii, Iourii

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

We analyze the dynamics of worker mobility in the United States over the 1968-1993 period at various levels of occupational and industry aggregation. We find a substantial overall increase in occupational and industry mobility over the period and document the levels and time trends in mobility for various age-education subgroups of the population. To control for measurement error in occupation and industry coding, we develop a method that utilizes the newly released, by the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Retrospective Occupation-Industry Supplemental Data Files. We emphasize the importance of the findings for understanding a number of issues in macro and labor economics, including changes in wage inequality, productivity, life-cycle earnings profiles, job stability and job security.

Suggested Citation

  • Kambourov, Gueorgui & Manovskii, Iourii, 2004. "Rising Occupational and Industry Mobility in the United States: 1968-1993," IZA Discussion Papers 1110, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1110
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. You could be leaving money on the table by not switching jobs
      by Ana Swanson in Wonkblog on 2015-08-12 19:53:48

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chris Robinson, 2018. "Occupational Mobility, Occupation Distance, and Specific Human Capital," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(2), pages 513-551.
    2. Federico Di Pace & Matthias Hertweck, 2019. "Labor Market Frictions, Monetary Policy, and Durable Goods," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 32, pages 274-304, April.
    3. Giuseppe Moscarini & Kaj Thomsson, 2007. "Occupational and Job Mobility in the US," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 109(4), pages 807-836, December.
    4. Ronald Bachmann & Michael C. Burda, 2010. "Sectoral Transformation, Turbulence and Labor Market Dynamics in Germany," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 11(1), pages 37-59, February.
    5. Campos, Nauro F. & Dabusinskas, Aurelijus, 2009. "So many rocket scientists, so few marketing clerks: Estimating the effects of economic reform on occupational mobility in Estonia," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 261-275, June.
    6. Bart Hobijn, 2012. "The industry-occupation mix of U.S. job openings and hires," Working Paper Series 2012-09, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    7. Alexandre Janiak, 2008. "Mobility in Europe - Why it is low, the bottlenecks, and the policy solutions," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 340, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    8. Liu, Runjuan & Trefler, Daniel, 2019. "A sorted tale of globalization: White collar jobs and the rise of service offshoring," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 105-122.
    9. Maxim Poletaev & Chris Robinson, 2008. "Human Capital Specificity: Evidence from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and Displaced Worker Surveys, 1984-2000," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(3), pages 387-420, July.
    10. Lars Ljungqvist & Thomas J. Sargent, 2010. "How Sweden's Unemployment Became More Like Europe's," NBER Chapters, in: Reforming the Welfare State: Recovery and Beyond in Sweden, pages 189-223, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Eric Parrado & Asena Caner & Edward N. Wolff, 2005. "Occupational and Industrial Mobility in the United States 1969–93," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_416, Levy Economics Institute.
    12. Fatih Karahan & Serdar Ozkan, 2013. "On the Persistence of Income Shocks over the Life Cycle: Evidence, Theory, and Implications," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(3), pages 452-476, July.
    13. Monsueto, Sandro Eduardo & Cunha, André Moreira & Da Silva Bichara, Julimar, 2014. "Occupational mobility and income differentials: The experience of Brazil between 2002 and 2010," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    occupational mobility; industry mobility; career mobility; sectoral reallocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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