Abstract:
The paper presents a decomposition of income mobility indices into two basic sources: mobility induced by a change of the income distribution shape, and mobility induced by a reordering of individuals in the income pecking order. The decomposition procedure, based on counterfactual distributions, results in a decomposition that is applicable to a broad class of mobility measures. Application to income 'movement' indices with data for Belgium, Western Germany and the USA indicates that reranking has been the major force behind income mobility. Copyright (c) The London School of Economics and Political Science 2004.