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Measuring Upward Mobility

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  • Ray, Debraj
  • Genicot, Garance

Abstract

We develop a measure of upward mobility that distills central features of the relative and absolute approaches to measuring mobility. The former is embodied in the Growth Progressivity axiom: transfers of instantaneous growth rates from relatively rich to poor individuals increases upward mobility. The latter is embodied in the Growth Alignment axiom: mobility increases with higher growth for all individuals. These axioms, along with standard auxiliary restrictions, identify a simple one-parameter family of upward mobility measures, linear in individual growth rates and exhibiting geometrically declining weights on baseline incomes. A serendipitous implication of our measure is that it does not rely on panel data, which greatly expands our analytical scope to data-poor settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Ray, Debraj & Genicot, Garance, 2022. "Measuring Upward Mobility," CEPR Discussion Papers 17051, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17051
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Miles Corak, 2013. "Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(3), pages 79-102, Summer.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marcello D’Amato & Christian Di Pietro & Marco M. Sorge, 2024. "Left and right: a tale of two tails of the wealth distribution," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 78(4), pages 1389-1433, December.
    2. John H.Y. Edwards, 2024. "Education Quality, Income Inequality, and Female Labor Force Participation in Brazil," Working Papers 2409, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    3. Ganesh Karapakula, 2022. "An Axiomatic Framework for Cost-Benefit Analysis," Papers 2207.13033, arXiv.org.
    4. Elvisa Drishti & Zamira Shkreli & Edvin Zhllima & Blendi Gerdoçi, 2023. "Deprivation, Social Mobility Considerations, and Life Satisfaction: A Comparative Study of 33 European Countries," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(3), pages 511-550, September.
    5. Justin T. Callais & Vincent Geloso, 2023. "Intergenerational income mobility and economic freedom," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(3), pages 732-753, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income mobility; Upward mobility; Pro-poor growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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