MOBILIFE

Assessing MOBIlity and inequality along the LIFE cycle: Theory and evidence from surveys and historical longitudinal data.

The research project is supported by the University of Verona Basic Research Grant 2017 - reference RBVR17KFHX

Abstract:

Inequality and mobility are two separate, yet connected, aspects of the longitudinal distribution of income. Mobility is socially valuable when it acts as an income equalizer across time. However, longitudinal income mobility analysis masks some features of the distribution of income along the life-cycle of the individuals, implying that panel income might not be representative of the long-term position of the individual in the distribution. Despite increasing empirical contributions brought on this domain, still little is known about the normative implication underlying the assessment of the heterogeneity in income-age trajectories of individuals

belonging to the same cohort, and their connections with panel mobility. The objective of this project is to provide the normative foundations for the analysis of the heterogeneity in income-age trajectories (IAT). For this purpose we consider IAT as a multidimensional distribution of income across individuals, where the dimensions are represented by the years in the life-cycle where income is measured.

We will derive partial and complete orders of IATs heterogeneities, and study their characterization in terms of welfare orderings and statistical concepts, and define empirical tests for these orders.. We will also consider the role of the family in shaping intertemporal inequality and lifetime disposable income inequality by investigating the relations between the heterogeneity in the family income trajectory across time and the spouse individual disposable IAT.

We plan to use survey and administrative HHB historical data for Italy (1861-1961) for the empirical implementation of our methods, to construct statistical models of IAT and to study how different features of the IAT predicted from these models better explain lifetime income inequality and annual mobility.

Keywords: Inequality, social mobility, welfare, dissimilarity, multidimensional inequality data, historical budget data.

Research team:

- Francesco Andreoli (University of Verona and LISER)

- Edoardo Demo (University of Verona)

- Martina Menon (University of Verona)

- Eugenio Peluso (PI - LISER and University of Verona)

- Claudio Zoli (University of Verona)

- Giovanni Vecchi (University of Rome - Tor Vergata)

Partners:

- Department of Economics, University of Verona, Italy

- Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research

- Historic Household Budget project

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POST-DOC OPENING

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A new post-doc position (“Assegno di ricerca”, 2 years contract, yearly wage €24k gross) is opened at the Department of Economics, University of Verona, Italy, supported by the project MOBILIFE - Assessing mobility and inequality along the life cycle: Theory and evidence from surveys and historical longitudinal data

Official call (in Italian): https://www.univr.it/en/job-vacancies/assegnisti-di-ricerca/assegni-di-ricerca/0/7140

To apply, send all requested material here: ufficio.protocollo@pec.univr.it

‎Deadline: 01.00pm October 21, 2019

Below a description of the position and requirements in English. If you are interested in learning more about the position, feel free to drop an email to francesco.andreoli@univr.it

Job description and requirements:

We are looking for a young, promising researcher with PhD, or near to PhD completion, in either economics or statistics. The post-doc candidate should hold strong empirical skills and show interest in welfare and inequality analysis applied to longitudinal data.

The post-doc will collaborate with the research team involved in the MOBILIFE project (Francesco Andreoli, Edoardo Demo, Martina Menon, Federico Perali, Claudio Zoli, Eugenio Peluso -PI-, all at University of Verona, and Giovanni Vecchi, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”).

The aim of the project is to gather new evidence on the consequences of income variability along the life-cycle on inequality, poverty and welfare.

The research team in Verona will offer guidance on the project work, and engage in collaborative research on new ideas that can be applied to new, restricted use longitudinal European data available to the team members. The post-doc will actively work on reporting advancements of the project (paper writing, conference participation) and will contribute to develop the Historic Household Budget project (http://www.hhbproject.com/) as a research affiliate. The post-doc will enjoy a substantial amount of flexibility for developing his/her lines of research, facilitated by lack of teaching loads over the two years. A dedicated budget for travels and IT support is also available, alongside with access to high-capacity virtual servers hosted at the University of Verona.

Requirements:

• PhD (or about to completion) in Economics or related disciplines;

• Knowledge of English and some knowledge of Italian (mostly to deal with administrative issues)

Items considered by the evaluation committee and that need to be documented:

• Degree Certificate

• Scientific publication record, with a specific focus on quantitative research

• Experience and research activity in the field

• Interview for shortlisted candidates (on October 28, 2019 at 1pm, Skype/Zoom interviews allowed)

Please visit the official call website, and download the “Bando” for more information on application procedure.