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Intergenerational Effects of the Distribution of Income and Wealth: The Utah Experience, 1850-1900

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  • J. R. Kearl
  • Clayne L. Pope

Abstract

The relationship between the wealth or income of parents and children is an important economic issue in both positive and normative senses. In this paper, we estimate elasticities of sons' income or wealth with respect to the wealth of their fathers for a sample of households in nineteenth century Utah. We find the elasticity relating the wealth of fathers to sons to range from .10 to .34 depending on the variables held constant such as occupation, age and residence. Elasticities based on observation of the wealth of fathers and sons in the same year were higher than those based on a lagged value of the fathers' wealth. The death of the father prior to observation of the sons' wealth increased the elasticity about three fold. The elasticity between the income of sons and wealth of fathers was low (.09 to .21) but significant even though the sons' incomes were observed fifteen years after the wealth of fathers. In general, the data suggest a persistent relationship between the economic status of parents and their children with substantial regression toward the mean so that an economic elite was unlikely to be based upon intergenerational transmission of economic success.

Suggested Citation

  • J. R. Kearl & Clayne L. Pope, 1981. "Intergenerational Effects of the Distribution of Income and Wealth: The Utah Experience, 1850-1900," NBER Working Papers 0754, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:0754
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    Cited by:

    1. Luc Arrondel & Cyril Grange, 2006. "Transmission and inequality of wealth: An empirical study of wealth mobility from 1800 to 1938 in France," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 4(2), pages 209-232, August.
    2. Anna Christina D'Addio, 2007. "Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantage: Mobility or Immobility Across Generations?," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 52, OECD Publishing.

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