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An International Comparison of Lifetime Inequality: How Continental Europe Resembles North America

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We compare earnings inequality and mobility across the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. during the late 1990s. A flexible model of earnings dynamics that isolates positional mobility within a stable earnings distribution is estimated. Earnings trajectories are then simulated, and lifetime annuity value distributions are constructed. Earnings mobility and employment risk are found to be positively correlated with base-year inequality. Taken together they produce more equalization in countries with high cross-section inequality such that the countries in our sample have more similar lifetime inequality levels than crosssection measures suggest.

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  • Audra J. Bowlus & Jean-Marc Robin, 2011. "An International Comparison of Lifetime Inequality: How Continental Europe Resembles North America," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20116, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
  • Handle: RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:20116
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    3. Giacomo Corneo, 2015. "Income inequality from a lifetime perspective," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 42(2), pages 225-239, May.
    4. 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.
    5. Giesecke, Matthias & Bönke, Timm & Lüthen, Holger, 2011. "The Dynamics of Earnings in Germany: Evidence from Social Security Records," VfS Annual Conference 2011 (Frankfurt, Main): The Order of the World Economy - Lessons from the Crisis 48692, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Nam, Leanne, 2022. "Optimal Progressive Pension Systems in a Life-Cycle Model with Heterogeneity in Job Stability," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264015, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Peter Levell & Barra Roantree & Jonathan Shaw, 2021. "Mobility and the lifetime distributional impact of tax and transfer reforms," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(4), pages 751-793, August.
    8. Bonin, Holger & Reuss, Karsten & Stichnoth, Holger, 2015. "Life-cycle incidence of family policy measures in Germany: Evidence from a dynamic microsimulation model," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-036, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. Heshmati, Almas & Kim, Jungsuk, 2014. "A Survey of the Role of Fiscal Policy in Addressing Income Inequality, Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth," IZA Discussion Papers 8119, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Audra Bowlus & Émilien Gouin‐Bonenfant & Huju Liu & Lance Lochner & Youngmin Park, 2022. "Four decades of Canadian earnings inequality and dynamics across workers and firms," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(4), pages 1447-1491, November.
    11. van Dalen, H.P. & Henkens, K., 2015. "Why Demotion of Older Workers is a No-Go Area for Managers," Discussion Paper 2015-025, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    12. Magnac, Thierry & Roux, Sébastien, 2021. "Heterogeneity and wage inequalities over the life cycle," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    13. Feld Lars P. & Schmidt Christoph M., 2016. "Jenseits der schrillen Töne," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 17(2), pages 188-205, July.
    14. Brant Abbott & Giovanni Gallipoli, 2017. "Human Capital Spillovers and the Geography of Intergenerational Mobility," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 25, pages 208-233, April.
    15. Christian Schellhase & Torben Kuhlenkasper, 2017. "Semi-parametric estimation of income mobility with D‑vines using bivariate penalised splines," AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Springer;Deutsche Statistische Gesellschaft - German Statistical Society, vol. 11(2), pages 107-134, October.
    16. Rocco ZIZZAMIA & Vimal RANCHHOD, 2020. "Earnings inequality over the life-course in South Africa," Working Paper 98ced6cc-3016-49dc-a2b6-b, Agence française de développement.
    17. Brant Abbott & Giovanni Gallipoli, 2014. "Technology and Intergenerational Persistence: Theory and Some Evidence," 2014 Meeting Papers 860, Society for Economic Dynamics.

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