Making the most of coresident data: Credible evidence on intergenerational mobility with sibling correlation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ahsan, Nazmul; Emran, M. Shahe; Jiang, Hanchen; Shilpi, Forhad
• 署名单位: Washington University (WUSTL); Columbia University; University of North Texas System; University of North Texas Denton; The World Bank
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103508
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Coresident data; Sample truncation bias; Intergenerational educational mobility; Sibling correlation; Intergenerational Regression Coefficient (IGRC); Intergenerational Correlation (IGC); Developing countries; census; Demographic and Health Survey (DHS); Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS)

摘要

Many available data sets are not used for estimating intergenerational mobility owing to concerns about sample truncation bias in coresident data. Using data from Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, India, Indonesia, and Mexico, we report the first evidence that the bias in estimated sibling correlation, a broad measure of relative mobility, is small in coresident samples (4.30%), much smaller than that in intergenerational regression coefficient (10.25%). The low bias reflects offsetting effects of sample truncation on the numerator and denominator of the sibling correlation formula. Sibling correlation estimates from coresident samples preserve the correct cross-country ranking 90%-95% times. Our findings have far-reaching implications for researchers working on intergenerational mobility.