Understanding Patterns and Trends in Income Mobility through Multiverse Analysis

IF 7.1 1区社会学 Q1 SOCIOLOGY

American Sociological Review Pub Date : 2023-07-12 DOI:10.1177/00031224231180607

Per Engzell, C. Mood

引用次数: 3

Abstract

Rising inequalities in rich countries have led to concerns that the economic ladder is getting harder to climb. Yet, research on trends in intergenerational income mobility finds conflicting results. To better understand this variation, we adopt a multiverse approach that estimates trends over 82,944 different definitions of income mobility, varying how and for whom income is measured. Our analysis draws on comprehensive register data for Swedish cohorts born 1958 to 1977 and their parents. We find that income mobility has declined, but for reasons neglected by previous research: improved gender equality in the labor market raises intergenerational persistence in women’s earnings and the household incomes of both men and women. Dominant theories that focus on childhood investments have blinded researchers to this development. Methodologically, we show how multiverse analysis can be used with abduction—inference to the best explanation—to improve theory-building in social science.

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通过多元分析理解收入流动的模式和趋势

富裕国家日益加剧的不平等导致人们担心经济阶梯越来越难以攀登。然而，对代际收入流动趋势的研究发现了相互矛盾的结果。为了更好地理解这种变化，我们采用了多元宇宙方法，估计了82944种不同定义的收入流动性的趋势，不同的收入衡量方式和对象。我们的分析借鉴了1958年至1977年出生的瑞典队列及其父母的综合登记数据。我们发现，收入流动性有所下降，但原因被之前的研究所忽视：劳动力市场性别平等的改善提高了女性收入和男女家庭收入的代际持久性。关注儿童投资的主流理论使研究人员对这一发展视而不见。在方法论上，我们展示了多元宇宙分析如何与推理（推理到最佳解释）一起使用，以改进社会科学的理论构建。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

American Sociological Review SOCIOLOGY-

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

3.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit membership association established in 1905. Its mission is to advance sociology as a scientific discipline and profession that serves the public good. ASA is comprised of approximately 12,000 members including faculty members, researchers, practitioners, and students in the field of sociology. Roughly 20% of the members work in government, business, or non-profit organizations. One of ASA's primary endeavors is the publication and dissemination of important sociological research. To this end, they founded the American Sociological Review (ASR) in 1936. ASR is the flagship journal of the association and publishes original works that are of general interest and contribute to the advancement of sociology. The journal seeks to publish new theoretical developments, research results that enhance our understanding of fundamental social processes, and significant methodological innovations. ASR welcomes submissions from all areas of sociology, placing an emphasis on exceptional quality. Aside from ASR, ASA also publishes 14 professional journals and magazines. Additionally, they organize an annual meeting that attracts over 6,000 participants. ASA's membership consists of scholars, professionals, and students dedicated to the study and application of sociology in various domains of society.