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The Evolution of Social Mobility: Norway during the Twentieth Century
Author(s) -
Pekkarinen Tuomas,
Salvanes Kjell G.,
Sarvimäki Matti
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the scandinavian journal of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.725
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1467-9442
pISSN - 0347-0520
DOI - 10.1111/sjoe.12205
Subject(s) - social mobility , percentile , demographic economics , economics , brother , educational attainment , demography , sociology , economic growth , social science , statistics , mathematics , anthropology
We document trends in social mobility in Norway using intergenerational income elasticities, the associations between the income percentiles of fathers and sons, and brother correlations. The results of all approaches suggest that social mobility increased substantially between cohorts born in the early 1930s and the early 1940s. Father–son associations remained stable for cohorts born after World War II, while brother correlations continued to decline. The relationship between father and son income percentile ranks is highly non‐linear for early cohorts, but it approaches linearity over time. We discuss increasing educational attainment among low‐ and middle‐income families as a possible mechanism underlying these trends.