IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v609y2007i1p134-152.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Family Background, Race, and Labor Market Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Dalton Conley

    (Department of Sociology at New York University (NYU), Mount Sinai School of Medicine, National Bureau of Economic Research)

  • Rebecca Glauber

    (Department of Sociology at New York University)

Abstract

For decades, social scientists have relied on sibling correlations as indicative of the effect of “global family background†on socioeconomic status. This study advances this line of inquiry by drawing on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to analyze racial differences in siblings' labor market and socioeconomic outcomes. We find that African Americans have lower sibling correlations in labor market earnings and family income than whites. Across the life course, African American siblings move toward greater resemblance than whites. These findings suggest that the effect of family background on socioeconomic outcomes is weaker for African Americans than for whites. Volatility in earlier career stages may suppress the effect of family background on labor market outcomes, and this dynamic is especially pronounced for African Americans who lack resources to insulate themselves from volatile events.

Suggested Citation

  • Dalton Conley & Rebecca Glauber, 2007. "Family Background, Race, and Labor Market Inequality," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 609(1), pages 134-152, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:609:y:2007:i:1:p:134-152
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716206296090
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0002716206296090
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0002716206296090?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Grusky & Thomas DiPrete, 1990. "Recent trends in the process of stratification," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 27(4), pages 617-637, November.
    2. Susan E. Mayer & Leonard M. Lopoo, 2005. "Has the Intergenerational Transmission of Economic Status Changed?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    3. Gary S. Becker & Nigel Tomes, 1994. "Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition, pages 257-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. repec:ucp:bkecon:9780226041568 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Corcoran, Mary, et al, 1990. "Effects of Family and Community Background on Economic Status," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 362-366, May.
    6. Gary Solon & Marianne E. Page & Greg J. Duncan, 2000. "Correlations Between Neighboring Children In Their Subsequent Educational Attainment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(3), pages 383-392, August.
    7. Gary Solon & Mary Corcoran & GRoger Gordon & Deborah Laren, 1991. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Sibling Correlations in Economic Status," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 26(3), pages 509-534.
    8. Levine, David I., 1999. "Choosing the Right Parents: Changes in the Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality Between the 1970s and the early 1990s," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt9r45b10r, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    9. Levine, David I., 1999. "Choosing the Right Parents: Changes in the Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality Between the 1970s and the early 1990s," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt9r45b10r, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    10. Chul-In Lee & Gary Solon, 2009. "Trends in Intergenerational Income Mobility," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(4), pages 766-772, November.
    11. Olivia S. Mitchell & John W. R. Phillips & Andrew Au & David McCarthy, 2003. "Lifetime Earnings Variability and Retirement Wealth," Working Papers wp051, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    12. Jere R. Behrman & Paul Taubman, 1990. "The Intergenerational Correlation Between Children'S Adult Earnings And Their Parents' Income: Results From The Michigan Panel Survey Of Income Dynamics," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 36(2), pages 115-127, June.
    13. David I. Levine & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2003. "The growing importance of family and community: an analysis of changes in the sibling correlation in earnings," Working Paper Series WP-03-24, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    14. Hauser, Robert M & Sewell, William H, 1986. "Family Effects in Simple Models of Education, Occupational Status and," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(3), pages 83-115, July.
    15. Behrman, Jere R & Rosenzweig, Mark R & Taubman, Paul, 1994. "Endowments and the Allocation of Schooling in the Family and in the Marriage Market: The Twins Experiment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1131-1174, December.
    16. repec:bla:revinw:v:36:y:1990:i:2:p:115-27 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Florencia Torche, 2015. "Analyses of Intergenerational Mobility," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 657(1), pages 37-62, January.
    2. Dalton Conley & Rebecca Glauber, 2005. "Sibling Similarity and Difference in Socioeconomic Status: Life Course and Family Resource Effects," NBER Working Papers 11320, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Anna Christina D'Addio, 2007. "Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantage: Mobility or Immobility Across Generations?," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 52, OECD Publishing.
    4. Güell, Maia & Rodríguez Mora, José V & Telmer, Chris, 2007. "Intergenerational Mobility and the Informative Content of Surnames," CEPR Discussion Papers 6316, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Robert Lucas & Sari Kerr, 2013. "Intergenerational income immobility in Finland: contrasting roles for parental earnings and family income," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 1057-1094, July.
    6. FAN, Yi, 2016. "Intergenerational income persistence and transmission mechanism: Evidence from urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 299-314.
    7. Jonathan Davis & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2017. "The Decline in Intergenerational Mobility After 1980," Working Paper Series WP-2017-5, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, revised 14 Jan 2022.
    8. Harding, David J. & Jencks, Christopher & Lopoo, Leonard M. & Mayer, Susan E., 2003. "The Changing Effect of Family Background on the Incomes of American Adults," Working Paper Series rwp03-045, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    9. P. Jenkins, Stephen & Jäntti, Markus, 2013. "Income mobility," ISER Working Paper Series 2013-23, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    10. Sari Pekkala & Robert E. B. Lucas, 2004. "On the Importance of Finnishing School: Half a Century of Inter-Generational Economic Mobility in Finland," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-141, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    11. Amy Hsin, 2012. "Is Biology Destiny? Birth Weight and Differential Parental Treatment," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(4), pages 1385-1405, November.
    12. Haile, Getinet Astatike, 2016. "Intergenerational Mobility in Income and Economic Status in Ethiopia," IZA Discussion Papers 10047, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Nathalie Chusseau & Joël Hellier & B. Ben-Halima, 2013. "Education, Intergenerational Mobility and Inequality," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Joël Hellier & Nathalie Chusseau (ed.), Growing Income Inequalities, chapter 8, pages 227-273, Palgrave Macmillan.
    14. Pablo Mitnik & David Grusky, 2018. "The Intergenerational Elasticity of What? The Case for Redefining the Workhorse Measure of Economic Mobility," Working Papers 2018-043, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    15. repec:osf:socarx:evfcx_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Nguyen, Anh & Getinet, Haile, 2003. "Intergenerational mobility in educational and occupational status: evidence from the U.S," MPRA Paper 1383, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Patrick Kline & Emmanuel Saez, 2014. "Where is the land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(4), pages 1553-1623.
    18. Susan E. Mayer & Leonard M. Lopoo, 2005. "Has the Intergenerational Transmission of Economic Status Changed?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    19. Maia Güell & José V. Rodríguez Mora & Christopher I. Telmer, 2014. "Intergenerational Mobility and the Informational Content of Surnames," Working Papers 2014-01, FEDEA.
    20. Levine, David I. & Jellema, Jon R., 2005. "Growth, Industrialization, and the Intergenerational Correlation of Advantage," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt2q74s1tg, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    21. Dalton Conley & Rebecca Glauber, 2005. "Gender, Body Mass and Economic Status," NBER Working Papers 11343, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:609:y:2007:i:1:p:134-152. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.