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Downing Lecture 2024: Where Does Wealth Come From?

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  • Sandra E. Black

Abstract

Recent decades have seen substantial increases in wealth inequality; this is particularly troubling given the high persistence of this inequality across generations. Yet, we have surprisingly little understanding of how and why wealth is transmitted across generations. Is this persistence driven by innate biological differences across families? Or is it driven by growing up in a different environment with access to different opportunities? In the 2024 Downing Public Lecture, Professor Sandra E. Black discusses the economics research that tries to answer this question, focusing on how one can disentangle the role of nature versus nurture.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandra E. Black, 2024. "Downing Lecture 2024: Where Does Wealth Come From?," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 57(3), pages 213-223, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ausecr:v:57:y:2024:i:3:p:213-223
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8462.12568
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Philipp Ager & Leah Boustan & Katherine Eriksson, 2021. "The Intergenerational Effects of a Large Wealth Shock: White Southerners after the Civil War," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(11), pages 3767-3794, November.
    2. Sandra E Black & Paul J Devereux & Petter Lundborg & Kaveh Majlesi, 2020. "Poor Little Rich Kids? The Role of Nature versus Nurture in Wealth and Other Economic Outcomes and Behaviours," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(4), pages 1683-1725.
    3. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Fanny Landaud & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2023. "Where Does Wealth Come From? Measuring Lifetime Resources in Norway," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 115-136, Fall.
    4. George Bulman & Robert Fairlie & Sarena Goodman & Adam Isen, 2021. "Parental Resources and College Attendance: Evidence from Lottery Wins," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(4), pages 1201-1240, April.
    5. David Cesarini & Erik Lindqvist & Robert Östling & Björn Wallace, 2016. "Wealth, Health, and Child Development: Evidence from Administrative Data on Swedish Lottery Players," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(2), pages 687-738.
    6. Michael F. Lovenheim, 2011. "The Effect of Liquid Housing Wealth on College Enrollment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(4), pages 741-771.
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