Occupational Mobility and Distribution of Earnings In Metropolitan Brazil : 1991-96 (Mobilidade Ocupacional E Rendimentos No Brasil Metropolitano: 1991/96)

In Brazil, the nineties are marked by profound changes in the patterns of employment and earnings. Our main purpose is to analyze the extent of occupational mobility in Brazil, during this period, with special attention to differences between male and female profiles. We investigate workers mobility among occupational categories classified by skill level and characterize transitions by race, age and education. We apply a logistic model to estimate transition probabilities of upward and downward mobility by gender, between 1991 and 1996, using panel data from IBGE's Monthly Employment Survey (PME). Our discussion includes a descriptive analysis of earnings profiles related to occupational transitions, based on estimated earning equations. Our results support the hypothesis that the Brazilian labour market absorbs differently men and women equally classified by skill level, and indicate higher probabilities of upward occupational mobility for men