IgM-Alps

Are the Alps a Land of Opportunity?
Intergenerational Correlation Estimates from Austria

Most people consider a society fair when individuals, regardless of their starting conditions, have equal opportunities to succeed in life. Intergenerational mobility is a key measure of a society’s ability to provide such opportunities. One of the biggest challenges in assessing intergenerational mobility is data availability. Researchers need reliable measures of permanent income (or other key outcomes, such as early-life health indicators) and the ability to link them across generations. Moreover, for a meaningful comparison, economic outcomes must be observed at similar stages in life, requiring extensive longitudinal data. To date, reliable intergenerational mobility estimates based on administrative data exist for only a handful of countries—and Austria 🇦🇹 is not yet among them.

In the research project "Are the Alps a Land of Opportunity? Intergenerational Correlation Estimates from Austria," funded by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) through its Anniversary Fund, Martin Halla (PI), Wolfgang Frimmel, and Harald Oberhofer investigate several aspects of intergenerational mobility in 🇦🇹 Austria.

Austria has a comprehensive social security system and generous welfare benefits. However, there is limited systematic evidence on whether these public institutions effectively promote equity.

This research project leverages high-quality administrative data to address this gap. Our primary data source is the well-established JKU Data Center, complemented by additional analyses using data from the Austrian Micro Data Center (AMDC) hosted by Statistics Austria.

By examining these rich datasets, our research aims to provide a detailed understanding of how economic and health outcomes are transmitted across generations. On this project website, you will find information about the team members (see below), previous related research projects, and ongoing research.

Martin Halla (PI)

Vienna University of Economics and Business

Martin Halla is a Full Professor of Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). As an empirically oriented economist, his research focuses on applied microeconometrics, particularly in the areas of labor, population, and health.

He has extensive experience working with Austrian administrative data, including the Austrian Social Security Database and various health registers. He serves on the scientific advisory board of the Austrian Socio-Economic Panel (ASEP), which is currently being established and integrated with the Austrian Micro Data Center (AMDC). He is also an active member of the Plattform Registerforschung (link), an informal network of researchers and stakeholders dedicated to enhancing access to public sector register data in Austria.

For more information about his research and publications, please visit his personal website.

Wolfgang Frimmel

Johannes Kepler University of Linz

Wolfgang Frimmel is an Associate Professor at Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU). His research focuses on labor and health economics, with a particular emphasis on aging and the intergenerational aspects of labor supply, behavior, and norms.

He has extensive experience working with Austrian administrative data, including the Austrian Social Security Database and various health registers.

For more information about his research and publications, please visit his personal website.

Harald Oberhofer

Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austrian Institute of Economic Research

Harald Oberhofer is a Full Professor of Empirical Economics at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and a Senior Economist at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO). His research focuses mainly on International Economics, empirical Industrial Organization, and Applied Econometrics.

He is also a founding member of the Plattform Registerforschung (link), an informal network of researchers and stakeholders dedicated to enhancing access to public sector register data in Austria.

For more information about his research and publications, please visit his website.

Qin Lin

Qin Lin is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is an applied microeconomist with a strong interest in understanding the factors that influence individual and household labor behavior, as well as labor market dynamics. After graduation, she will join the IgM-Apls team as a postdoctoral researcher.

For more information about her research and publications, please visit her website.

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