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Intergenerational Economic Mobility and Assortative Mating

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  • Ermisch, John

    (University of Oxford)

  • Francesconi, Marco

    (University of Essex)

  • Siedler, Thomas

    (University of Potsdam)

Abstract

We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Survey to estimate the extent of intergenerational economic mobility in a framework that highlights the role played by assortative mating. We find that assortative mating plays an important role. On average about 40-50% of the covariance between parents' and own permanent family income can be attributed to the person to whom one is married. This effect is driven by strong spouse correlations in human capital, which are larger in Germany than Britain.

Suggested Citation

  • Ermisch, John & Francesconi, Marco & Siedler, Thomas, 2005. "Intergenerational Economic Mobility and Assortative Mating," IZA Discussion Papers 1847, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1847
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    1. Love & class
      by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2014-02-14 20:06:14

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    Cited by:

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    2. María Cervini-Plá, 2013. "Exploring the Sources of Earnings Transmission in Spain," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 204(1), pages 45-66, March.
    3. Doruk, Ömer Tuğsal & Pastore, Francesco & Yavuz, Hasan Bilgehan, 2020. "Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Latin American Economies: An Empirical Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 13050, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Cheti Nicoletti & Marco Francesconi, 2006. "Intergenerational mobility and sample selection in short panels," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(8), pages 1265-1293.
    5. Trombetta Martin & Villafañe María Fernanda, 2023. "Movilidad ocupacional intergeneracional en Argentina," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4695, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    6. Brian Nolan & Gosta Esping-Andersen & Christopher T. Whelan & Bertrand Maitre, 2010. "The Role of Social Institutions in Inter-Generational Mobility," Working Papers 201018, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    7. Blanden, Joanne, 2005. "Amour et argent : mobilite intergenerationnelle et appariement conjugal d'apres le revenu des parents," Direction des études analytiques : documents de recherche 2005272f, Statistics Canada, Direction des études analytiques.
    8. Ermisch, John, 2004. "Parent and adult-child interactions: empirical evidence from Britain," ISER Working Paper Series 2004-02, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    9. Hirvonen, Lalaina, 2006. "Intergenerational Earnings Mobility Among Daughters and Sons: Evidence from Sweden and a Comparison with the United States," Working Paper Series 5/2006, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    10. Vera Tolstova, 2021. "Marital Sorting and Cross-Country Differences in Intergenerational Earnings Persistence," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp680, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    11. María Cervini Plá, 2009. "Measuring intergenerational earnings mobility in Spain: A selection-bias-free," Working Papers wpdea0904, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    12. María Cervini-Plá, 2015. "Intergenerational Earnings and Income Mobility in Spain," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(4), pages 812-828, December.
    13. Gayle, George-Levi & Golan, Limor & Soytas, Mehmet A., 2022. "What is the source of the intergenerational correlation in earnings?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 24-45.
    14. Maribel Jiménez, 2011. "Un Análisis Empírico de las No Linealidades en la Movilidad Intergeneracional del Ingreso. El caso de la Argentina," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0114, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    15. Maribel Jimenez & Monica Jimenez, 2009. "La Movilidad Intergeneracional del Ingreso: Evidencia para Argentina," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0084, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    16. Nicoletti, Cheti, 2008. "Multiple sample selection in the estimation of intergenerational occupational mobility," ISER Working Paper Series 2008-20, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    17. Holmlund, Helena, 2006. "Intergenerational Mobility and Assortative Mating. Effects of an Educational Reform," Working Paper Series 4/2006, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    18. Gouskova, Elena & Chiteji, Ngina & Stafford, Frank, 2010. "Estimating the intergenerational persistence of lifetime earnings with life course matching: Evidence from the PSID," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 592-597, June.
    19. Ermisch, John, 2006. "Fairness in the family: implications for parent-adult child interactions," ISER Working Paper Series 2006-13, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    20. Blanden, Joanne, 2005. "Love and Money: Intergenerational Mobility and Marital Matching on Parental Income," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2005272e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational links; marriage market; occupational prestige; assortative mating;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers

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