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Intergenerational mobility in self-reported health status in the US

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  • Halliday, Timothy
  • Mazumder, Bhashkar
  • Wong, Ashley

Abstract

We present estimates of intergenerational mobility in self-reported health status (SRHS) in the US using data from the PSID. We estimate that the rank-rank slope in SRHS is 0.26. We show that including both parent health and income in models of intergenerational mobility increases the explanatory power of child outcomes. We construct a monetary metric for health and then use this to combine income and health into a measure of welfare and estimate the rank-rank slope to be about 0.4 for this new measure. Finally, we document striking health mobility gaps by race, region and parent education.

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  • Halliday, Timothy & Mazumder, Bhashkar & Wong, Ashley, 2021. "Intergenerational mobility in self-reported health status in the US," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:193:y:2021:i:c:s0047272720301717
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104307
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    3. Juergen Jung, 2022. "Estimating transition probabilities between health states using US longitudinal survey data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 901-943, August.
    4. You, Jing & Ding, Xinxin & Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel & Wang, Sangui, 2021. "The intergenerational impact of house prices on education: evidence from China," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Fletcher, Jason & Jajtner, Katie M., 2023. "Multidimensional intergenerational mobility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    6. Harrison Chang & Timothy J. Halliday & Ming-Jen Lin & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2023. "Estimating Intergenerational Health Transmission in Taiwan with Administrative Health Records," Working Papers 202308, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    7. Kettlewell, Nathan & Tymula, Agnieszka & Yoo, Hong Il, 2023. "The Heritability of Economic Preferences," IZA Discussion Papers 16633, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren & Pesko, Michael & Phillips, Serena, 2022. "The Long-Term Impact of In-Utero Cigarette Taxes on Adult Prenatal Smoking," IZA Discussion Papers 15656, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Hou, Bingdong & Wu, Jingwen & Mi, Zhifu & Ma, Chunbo & Shi, Xunpeng & Liao, Hua, 2022. "Cooking fuel types and the health effects: A field study in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).

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