Social inequalities are complex and multidimensional. Opinions on what makes a good life and what is fair vary widely. The same applies to social mobility, which in economic terms usually refers to the relationship between the income of parents and that of their children.
Like Father, Like Son?: On Intergenerational Income Mobility in Germany
IW-Trends
German Economic Institute (IW)
Social inequalities are complex and multidimensional. Opinions on what makes a good life and what is fair vary widely. The same applies to social mobility, which in economic terms usually refers to the relationship between the income of parents and that of their children.
Social inequalities are complex and multidimensional. Opinions on what makes a good life and what is fair vary widely. The same applies to social mobility, which in economic terms usually refers to the relationship between the income of parents and that of their children. The focus is on income because of the considerable influence it exerts on people’s opportunities to develop and to participate in our society. Ultimately, it's about the belief that, ideally, children should be better off than their parents. It is therefore examined what absolute and relative income mobility persist across generations. The results show that in western Germany 63 per cent of sons born between 1955 and 1975 earned a significantly higher wage or salary than their fathers. Those with fathers from the lowest earnings bracket were particularly successful in improving their status. Our analysis focuses on fathers and sons because they still tend to have more continuous employment biographies than mothers and daughters, making a comparative analysis much easier. Eastern Germany was not included in the study due to the fundamental differences in economic conditions before and after the German reunification. Furthermore, the remaining observation period is too short for our purposes. A direct comparison with the US makes clear that Germany has the higher income mobility. This applies to both absolute and relative income mobility. In recent decades, economic growth in Germany has been distributed more widely, so that large sections of the population have been able to share in the country’s rising prosperity. Social advancement is possible in Germany and t oday's adults are better off than their parents.
Maximilian Stockhausen: Wie der Vater, so der Sohn? Zur intergenerationalen Einkommensmobilität in Deutschland
IW-Trends
German Economic Institute (IW)
More on the topic
A Macroeconomic Analysis of Wage-Price Spirals
The subject of this Analysis is the forms that wage-price spirals can take and how they influence macroeconomic stability and inflationary trends in Germany.
IW
Pharmaceutical industry: Increasing pressure on the labor market
The shortage of skilled workers poses significant challenges for pharmaceutical companies in Germany and is expected to become increasingly problematic in the context of demographic changes. Concerning Germany's positioning in the international competition ...
IW