Structural and Exchange Occupational Mobility in India, 1994–2018: A Log-Linear Model- Based Analysis

This article examines intergenerational structural and exchange occupational mobility in India. Using data from India’s multiple National Sample Surveys’ employment and Periodic Labour Force Survey rounds, the study investigates co-resident father-son relationships from 1993–1994 to 2017–2018. It employs a log-linear model with a quasi-symmetry fit—also called an SHD model—to estimate the structural and exchange components of occupational mobility. This work reveals that intergenerational mobility owes considerably to economic structural shifts and that exchange mobility for the larger study period from 1993–1994 to 2011–2012 remains low. However, it also suggests that there has been an increase in exchange occupational mobility in recent survey year (2017–2018).

JEL Classification: J62, J24