"Who Gets Ahead ? Comparative Evidence on Intragenerational Mobility from Administrative Microdata"

Abstracts : We use administrative records from Austria, Belgium, Estonia and Spain to study income dynamics of working-age individuals over five years. Aggregate mobility indices often mask substantial variation in short-term income trajectories for individuals at different points of the distribution. By combining relative and absolute mobility metrics that can be aggregated at the percentile level, we provide granular comparative evidence of intragenerational mobility both across countries and across socio-demographic groups. Our results show that cross-country differences in mobility patterns are particularly pronounced at the bottom and top of the distribution, while outcomes in the middle are more alike. Large cross-country differences in relative income growth or rank advancement at the bottom often translate into only modest differences in absolute living standards, underscoring the importance of considering different mobility metrics when comparing mobility across countries. Overall, Estonia exhibits greater relative and absolute intragenerational mobility than the other three countries. Across demographic groups, individuals with lower educational attainment and immigrants experience weaker mobility outcomes across the entire distribution in all countries. Women experience worse mobility outcomes at the bottom of the distribution, although the gap narrows in the upper half in Belgium, Estonia and Spain. Age and rural–urban differences vary by initial income position and are not consistent across countries.