Dynastic Human Capital, Inequality, and Intergenerational Mobility

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Adermon, Adrian; Lindahl, Mikael; Palme, Marten
• 署名单位: University of Gothenburg; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Stockholm University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20190553
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 1523-1548
• 关键词: income mobility; UNITED-STATES; 3 generations; transmission; adoption; CHILDREN

摘要

We estimate long-run intergenerational persistence in human capital using information on outcomes for the extended family: the dynasty. A dataset including the entire Swedish population, linking four generations, allows us to identify parents' siblings and cousins, their spouses, and spouses' siblings. Using various human capital measures, we show that traditional parent-child estimates underestimate long-run intergenerational persistence by at least one-third. By adding outcomes for more distant ancestors, we show that almost all of the persistence is captured by the parental generation. Data on adoptees show that at least one-third of -long-term persistence is attributed to environmental factors.