Like Mother, Like Child? The Rise of Women’s Intergenerational Income Persistence in Sweden and the United States

Gunnar Brandén, Martin Nybom and Kelly Vosters

Journal of Labor Economics, 2026, vol. 44, issue 4, 1299 - 1337

Abstract: We examine intergenerational mobility in Sweden and the United States since 1985, focusing on labor incomes of men, women, and households. Increased persistence among women alongside stable father-son persistence contributes to an overall mobility decline. Surprisingly, mother-son and mother-daughter persistence show similar rising trends and levels across countries despite Sweden’s earlier rise in women’s labor force participation and lower conventionally measured persistence. Decomposition analyses reveal that differing relative contributions of maternal characteristics (e.g., employment) underlie the parallel trends. Contrasting parental assortative mating drives the coinciding levels, as US-specific negative income-based sorting offsets the mobility-depressing effects of positive human capital sorting.

Date: 2026
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