Finding a better job: The geography of socio-professional mobility during working life

Paul Charruau and Anne Epaulard
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Paul Charruau: CNRS, EconomiX, Université Paris Nanterre, 92001 Nanterre
Anne Epaulard: LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: What determines the chances of moving up or down to better or worse jobs? We examine how local labor markets influence individuals' socio-professional mobility throughout their working lives, focusing on large promotions and demotions. Using an empirical strategy that accounts for spatial sorting bias, applied to a sample of approximately 350,000 workers in France between 2009 and 2015, we find that job density, local human capital, and labor market size significantly increase the likelihood of being promoted to a higher socio-professional status. The effect of local factors is stronger for external promotions (outside the firm) than for internal ones. Moreover, experience accumulated in the most densely populated and educated areas continues to enhance promotion prospects, even after relocating to less dense or educated areas. This dynamic effect of promotion explains around 16% of the wage premium associated with experience in dense areas. Finally, we show that agglomerations effects on promotion are driven more by human capital externalities and proximity to other dense markets than by pure urbanization or scale effects.

Date: 2025-11
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Published in Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2025, 115, pp.104162. ⟨10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104162⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05413473

DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104162

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