Career preferences and socio-economic background

Arbeitspapier

Career decisions, that is educational and occupational choice, are not only made by comparing expected incomes, but also by considering non-monetary rewards like social impact, chances of promotion, or the compatibility of work and family. In this paper, I use rich panel data from Germany to show that preferences about such aspects of a career as stated at age 17 are strong predictors of future earnings in the labor market. At the same time, these preferences differ significantly by socio-economic background, and intergenerational income persistence is reduced by 8-22 percent when accounting for career preferences.

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• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ifo Working Paper ; No. 395

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles ; Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion ; Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
• Subject: Equality of opportunity ; intergenerational mobility ; occupational choice

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Schüle, Paul
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2023

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/272302