ABSTRACT
If a child is born into a household, the household income changes in the same year according to the new household composition. Likewise entry into low income often occurs in the same year as, say, a divorce, because for the year of the divorce the household income calculation is based exclusively on the respondent’s income. One advantage of the longitudinal income data is the existence of information on household income dynamics over an unusually long time period. Changes in household composition and the level of participation of household members in the labour market are likely to lead to significant variability in living standards over the life-course. The chapter discusses some earlier research on income and poverty mobility, with regard both to methods of data analysis and to empirical findings. As for the labour-market variables, the high odds of leaving low income among the unemployed may be unexpected.
