Research project Income mobility between and within generations among natives and immigrants

Entrepreneurship and self-employment are often hailed as important avenues for upward income mobility. It is often argued that they increase upward mobility between generations, so called intergenerational mobility as well as mobility within generations, so called intragenerational mobility.

For Sweden, little is known about the importance of entrepreneurship and self-employment for upward income mobility. There are some previous studies for the US investigating this question. In this literature, self-employment has been seen as a way to achieve economic advancement for minority groups in particular. Also in Sweden, self-employment is seen as a way for immigrants to establish themselves in the labor market.

In different projects we ask (i) if income mobility between generations is higher among self- employed than among wage-earners, (ii) if mobility between generations is particularly high among self- employed immigrants and (iii) if income mobility within generations is higher among self-employed than among wage-earners and if mobility is particularly high among self-employed immigrants.