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Assessing Intergenerational Earnings Persistence Among German Workers

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  • Pfeiffer, Friedhelm
  • Eisenhauer, Philipp

Abstract

In this study we assess the relationship between father and son earnings among (West) German Workers. To reduce the lifecycle and attenuation bias a novel sampling procedure is developed and applied to the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984-2006. Our preferred point estimate indicates that about 1/3 of the earnings differential in the labor market has been passed on from the generation of fathers to their sons.

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  • Pfeiffer, Friedhelm & Eisenhauer, Philipp, 2008. "Assessing Intergenerational Earnings Persistence Among German Workers," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-014, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7223
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    2. Pfeiffer, Friedhelm & Reuß, Karsten, 2008. "Intra- und intergenerationale Umverteilungseffekte in der bundesdeutschen Alterssicherung auf Basis humankapital - theoretischer Überlegungen," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-010, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    3. Huebener, Mathias, 2015. "The role of paternal risk attitudes in long-run education outcomes and intergenerational mobility," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 64-79.
    4. Gernandt, Johannes, 2009. "Decreasing wage mobility in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-044, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Jan Stuhler, 2018. "A Review of Intergenerational Mobility and its Drivers," JRC Research Reports JRC112247, Joint Research Centre.
    6. Akin Serife Nuray, 2012. "Immigration, Fiscal Policy, and Welfare in an Aging Population," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-45, July.
    7. Feld Lars P. & Schmidt Christoph M., 2016. "Jenseits der schrillen Töne: Elemente für eine rationale Diskussion über die Ungleichheit von Einkommen und Vermögen in Deutschland," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 17(2), pages 188-205, July.
    8. Daniel D. Schnitzlein, 2016. "A New Look at Intergenerational Mobility in Germany Compared to the U.S," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 650-667, December.
    9. René Böheim & Christina Judmayr, 2014. "Chancengleichheit in Österreich," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 134, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    10. Kosse, Fabian & Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2012. "Impatience among preschool children and their mothers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(3), pages 493-495.
    11. Daniel Schnitzlein, 2014. "How important is the family? Evidence from sibling correlations in permanent earnings in the USA, Germany, and Denmark," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 69-89, January.
    12. Iryna Kyzyma & Olaf Groh-Samberg, 2020. "Estimation of intergenerational mobility in small samples: evidence from German survey data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 621-643, September.
    13. Céline Lecavelier des Etangs-Levallois, 2017. "Overview of intergenerational earnings mobility in Germany," THEMA Working Papers 2017-11, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    14. Coban, Mustafa & Sauerhammer, Sarah, 2017. "Transmission channels of intergenerational income mobility: Empirical evidence from Germany and the Unites States," Discussion Paper Series 138, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Chair of Economic Order and Social Policy.
    15. Schnitzlein Daniel, 2009. "Struktur und Ausmaß der intergenerationalen Einkommensmobilität in Deutschland / Structure and Extent of Intergenerational Income Mobility in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(4), pages 450-466, August.
    16. Chau, Tak Wai, 2012. "Intergenerational income mobility revisited: Estimation with an income dynamic model with heterogeneous age profile," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(3), pages 770-773.
    17. Paul Hufe & Andreas Peichl & Daniel Weishaar, 2018. "Intergenerationelle Einkommensmobilität: Schlusslicht Deutschland?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 71(20), pages 20-28, October.
    18. Cornelissen Thomas & Jirjahn Uwe & Tsertsvadze Georgi, 2008. "Parental Background and Earnings: German Evidence on Direct and Indirect Relationships," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 228(5-6), pages 554-572, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational Mobility; Lifecycle; Permanent Earnings; Wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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