Intergenerational Mobility in Australia

Andrew Leigh

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2007, vol. 7, issue 2, 28

Abstract: Combining four surveys conducted over a forty year period, I calculate intergenerational earnings elasticities for Australia, using predicted earnings in parents' occupations as a proxy for actual parental earnings. In the most recent survey, the elasticity of sons' wages with respect to fathers' wages is around 0.2. Comparing this estimate with earlier surveys, I find little evidence that intergenerational mobility in Australia has significantly risen or fallen over time. Applying the same methodology to United States data, I find that Australian society exhibits more intergenerational mobility than the United States. My method appears to slightly overstate the degree of intergenerational mobility; if the true intergenerational earnings elasticity in the United States is 0.4-0.6 (as recent studies have suggested), then the intergenerational earnings elasticity in Australia is probably around 0.2-0.3.

Keywords: social mobility; imputed earnings; Australia; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (64)

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DOI: 10.2202/1935-1682.1781

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