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How important is the family? Evidence from sibling correlations in permanent earnings in the USA, Germany, and Denmark

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  • Daniel Schnitzlein

Abstract

This paper is the first to analyze the impact of family background on permanent earnings based on sibling correlations in Germany and to provide a cross-country comparison of Germany, Denmark, and USA. The main findings are that family and community background has a stronger influence on permanent earnings in Germany than in Denmark, and a comparable influence is found in USA. This holds true for both male and female siblings. A deeper analysis of Germany shows that family background also plays an important role in explaining variations in family income, wages, education, and risk attitudes. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

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  • Daniel Schnitzlein, 2014. "How important is the family? Evidence from sibling correlations in permanent earnings in the USA, Germany, and Denmark," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 69-89, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:27:y:2014:i:1:p:69-89
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-013-0468-6
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sibling correlations; Intergenerational mobility; REML; Germany; SOEP; D1; D3; J62;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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