Earnings dynamics and its intergenerational transmission: Evidence from Norway

Abstract

Using administrative data, we provide an extensive characterization of labor earnings dynamics in Norway. Some of our findings are as follows: (i) Norway has not been immune to the increase in top earnings inequality seen in other countries, (ii) the earnings distribution compresses in the bottom 90% over the life cycle but expands in the top 10%, and (iii) the earnings growth distribution is left-skewed and leptokurtic, and the extent of these nonnormalities varies with age and past income.