arXiv subjects

Martin Nybom

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Nybom.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Indirect Estimators of Intergenerational Mobility

This chapter reviews indirect estimators of intergenerational mobility, focusing on approaches that infer parent-child or other family associations when direct income data are incomplete or unavailable. We synthesize methods based on instrumental variables, imputation using observable characteristics such as education and occupation, surname-based estimators, and multigenerational linkages. To unify these approaches, we introduce a stylized framework in which socioeconomic status is transmitted through multiple pathways with heterogeneous persistence rates. Within this framework, both direct and indirect estimators can be interpreted as weighted averages of these underlying transmission channels. A central insight is that the choice of instrument or imputation strategy determines these weights, leading different methods to capture distinct aspects of the transmission process. We highlight implications for interpretation, showing that indirect estimators need not recover conventional parent-child correlations but can instead provide complementary evidence on long-run persistence and the mechanisms underlying persistent inequalities.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2025

A Lifecycle Estimator of Intergenerational Income Mobility

Lacking lifetime income data, most intergenerational mobility estimates are subject to lifecycle bias. Using long income series from Sweden and the US, we illustrate that standard correction methods struggle to account for one important property of income processes: children from affluent families experience faster income growth, even conditional on their own characteristics. We propose a lifecycle estimator that captures this pattern and performs well across different settings. We apply the estimator to study mobility trends, including for recent cohorts that could not be considered in prior work. Despite rising income inequality, intergenerational mobility remained largely stable in both countries.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2025

Geographic Variation in Multigenerational Mobility

Using complete-count register data spanning three generations, we document spatial patterns in inter- and multi-generational mobility in Sweden. Across municipalities, grandfather-child correlations in education or earnings tend to be larger than the square of the parent-child correlations, suggesting that the latter understate status transmission in the long run. Yet, conventional parent-child correlations capture regional differences in long-run transmission and therefore remain useful for comparative purposes. We further find that the within-country association between mobility and income inequality (the "Great Gatsby Curve") is at least as strong in the multi- as in the inter-generational case. Interpreting those patterns through the lens of a latent factor model, we find that regional differences in mobility primarily reflect variation in the transmission of latent advantages, rather than in how those advantages translate into observed outcomes.

econ.GN↗