IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tin/wpaper/20250010.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Measuring Family (Dis)Advantage: Lessons from Detailed Parental Information

Author

Listed:
  • Sander de Vries

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute)

Abstract

This paper provides new insights on the importance of family background by linking 1.7 million Dutch children’s incomes to an exceptionally rich set of family characteristics — including income, wealth, education, occupation, crime, and health. Using a machine learning approach, I show that conventional analyses using parental income only considerably underestimate intergenerational dependence. This underestimation is concentrated at the extremes of the child income distribution, where families are often (dis)advantaged across multiple dimensions. Gender differences in intergenerational dependence are minimal, despite allowing for complex gender-specific patterns. A comparison with adoptees highlights the role of pre-birth factors in driving intergenerational transmission.

Suggested Citation

  • Sander de Vries, 2025. "Measuring Family (Dis)Advantage: Lessons from Detailed Parental Information," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 25-010/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/25010.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marianne Bertrand & Jessica Pan, 2013. "The Trouble with Boys: Social Influences and the Gender Gap in Disruptive Behavior," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 32-64, January.
    2. Bhashkar Mazumder, 2005. "Fortunate Sons: New Estimates of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States Using Social Security Earnings Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 235-255, May.
    3. M Dolores Collado & Ignacio Ortuño-Ortín & Jan Stuhler, 2023. "Estimating Intergenerational and Assortative Processes in Extended Family Data," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(3), pages 1195-1227.
    4. Claudia Olivetti & M. Daniele Paserman, 2015. "In the Name of the Son (and the Daughter): Intergenerational Mobility in the United States, 1850-1940," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(8), pages 2695-2724, August.
    5. Gustave Kenedi & Louis Sirugue, 2023. "Intergenerational income mobility in France: a comparative and geographical analysis," PSE Working Papers halshs-04563025, HAL.
    6. Xavier Ramos & Dirk gaer, 2016. "Approaches To Inequality Of Opportunity: Principles, Measures And Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 855-883, December.
    7. Paul Hufe & Ravi Kanbur & Andreas Peichlifo, 2022. "Measuring Unfair Inequality: Reconciling Equality of Opportunity and Freedom from Poverty," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(6), pages 3345-3380.
    8. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    9. Lei, Ziteng & Lundberg, Shelly, 2020. "Vulnerable Boys: Short-term and Long-term Gender Differences in the Impacts of Adolescent Disadvantage," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 424-448.
    10. Kenedi, Gustave & Sirugue, Louis, 2023. "Intergenerational income mobility in France: A comparative and geographic analysis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    11. Brenøe, Anne Ardila & Lundberg, Shelly, 2018. "Gender gaps in the effects of childhood family environment: Do they persist into adulthood?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 42-62.
    12. Yoosoon Chang & Steven N. Durlauf & Bo Hu & Joon Y. Park, 2024. "Accounting for Individual-Specific Heterogeneity in Intergenerational Income Mobility," CAMA Working Papers 2024-18, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, revised Dec 2024.
    13. Gustave Kenedi & Louis Sirugue, 2023. "Intergenerational Income Mobility in France: A Comparative and Geographic Analysis," PSE Working Papers halshs-04423899, HAL.
    14. Kelly Vosters, 2018. "Is the Simple Law of Mobility Really a Law? Testing Clark's Hypothesis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(612), pages 404-421, July.
    15. David Autor & David Figlio & Krzysztof Karbownik & Jeffrey Roth & Melanie Wasserman, 2023. "Males at the Tails: How Socioeconomic Status Shapes the Gender Gap," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(656), pages 3136-3152.
    16. Andreas Fagereng & Magne Mogstad & Marte Rønning, 2021. "Why Do Wealthy Parents Have Wealthy Children?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(3), pages 703-756.
    17. Bertha Rohenkohl, 2023. "Intergenerational income mobility: New evidence from the UK," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(4), pages 789-814, December.
    18. Paolo Brunori & Paul Hufe & Daniel Mahler, 2023. "The roots of inequality: estimating inequality of opportunity from regression trees and forests," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 125(4), pages 900-932, October.
    19. Oddbjørn Raaum & Kjell G. Salvanes & Erik O. Sørensen, 2006. "The Neighbourhood is Not What it Used to be," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(508), pages 200-222, January.
    20. Brunori, Paolo & Hufe, Paul & Mahler, Daniel, 2023. "The roots of inequality: estimating inequality of opportunity from regression trees and forests," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118220, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    21. Stefanie Heidrich, 2017. "Intergenerational mobility in Sweden: a regional perspective," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(4), pages 1241-1280, October.
    22. Kelly Vosters & Martin Nybom, 2017. "Intergenerational Persistence in Latent Socioeconomic Status: Evidence from Sweden and the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(3), pages 869-901.
    23. Marianne E. Page & Gary Solon, 2003. "Correlations between sisters and neighbouring girls in their subsequent income as adults," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(5), pages 545-562.
    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. Ferreira, Francisco H. G. & Brunori, Paolo & Neidhöfer, Guido & Salas-Rojo, Pedro & Sirugue, Louis, 2025. "Inherited Inequality in Latin America," SocArXiv 9gmb8_v1, Center for Open Science.
    2. Adermon, Adrian & Brandén, Gunnar & Nybom, Martin, 2025. "The Relationship Between Intergenerational Mobility and Equality of Opportunity," IZA Discussion Papers 17792, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Julia Baarck & Moritz Bode & Andreas Peichl, 2025. "Rising Inequality, Declining Mobility: The Evolution of Intergenerational Mobility in Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 12058, CESifo.
    4. Julia Baarck & Moritz Bode & Andreas Peichl, 2025. "Rising Inequality, Declining Mobility: The Evolution of Intergenerational Mobility in Germany," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 550, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    5. Nofal, Bastián Castro & Flores, Ignacio & Cubillos, Pablo Gutiérrez, 2025. "From Housing Gains to Pension Losses: New Methods to Reveal Wealth Inequality Dynamics in Chile," SocArXiv b8zve_v1, Center for Open Science.
    6. Simone Moriconi & Mikaël Pasternak & Ahmed Trita & Nadiya Ukrayinchuk, 2025. "Climbing the Ladder: The Intergenerational Mobility of Second-Generation Immigrants in France," Working Papers 2025-iFlame-01, IESEG School of Management.
    7. Adrian Adermon & Mikael Lindahl & Mårten Palme, 2021. "Dynastic Human Capital, Inequality, and Intergenerational Mobility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(5), pages 1523-1548, May.
    8. Devereux, Paul J. & Delaney, Judith, 2021. "Gender and Educational Achievement: Stylized Facts and Causal Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 15753, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. repec:osf:socarx:ud42t_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Holmlund, Helena & Rainer, Helmut & Reich, Patrick, 2023. "All geared towards success? Cultural origins of gender gaps in student achievement," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 222-242.
    11. Wei Zou & Ruiqi Ma, 2024. "An Extended Family Perspective on Intergenerational Human Capital Transmission in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 1101-1139, September.
    12. Javier Cortes Orihuela & Juan D. Díaz & Pablo Gutiérrez Cubillos & Pablo A. Troncoso, 2025. "The two-sample two-stage least squares method to estimate the intergenerational earnings elasticity," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 23(2), pages 549-570, June.
    13. Esteban García-Miralles & Miriam Gensowski, 2025. "Are Children’s Socio-Emotional Skills Shaped by Parental Health Shocks?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 60(5), pages 1560-1596.
    14. Bertrand Garbinti & Cecilia García-Peñalosa & Vladimir Pecheu & Frederique Savignac, 2025. "Explaining the dynamics of the gender gap in lifetime earnings," Working Papers hal-05099831, HAL.
    15. David Autor & David Figlio & Krzysztof Karbownik & Jeffrey Roth & Melanie Wasserman, 2023. "Males at the Tails: How Socioeconomic Status Shapes the Gender Gap," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(656), pages 3136-3152.
    16. Gustave Kenedi & Louis Sirugue, 2023. "La mobilité intergénérationnelle de revenus en France : une analyse comparative et géographique," Post-Print halshs-04439127, HAL.
    17. Ghazala Azmat & Katja Maria Kaufmann & Yasemin Özdemir, 2022. "Gender Differences in Adolescents' Socioemotional Development and their Later Economic Consequences," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-03918118, HAL.
    18. Ulrika Ahrsjo & Ren'e Karadakic & Joachim Kahr Rasmussen, 2023. "Intergenerational Mobility Trends and the Changing Role of Female Labor," Papers 2302.14440, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2025.
    19. Nancy Reichman & Hope Corman & Dhaval M. Dave & Ariel Kalil & Ofira Schwartz-Soicher, 2020. "Effects of Welfare Reform on Parenting," NBER Working Papers 28077, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Doan, Quang Hung & Nguyen, Ngoc Anh, 2016. "Intergenerational Income Mobility in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 70603, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Francesco Bloise & Michele Raitano, 2019. "Intergenerational earnings elasticity of actual father-son pairs in Italy accounting for lifecycle and attenuation bias," Working Papers 504, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:tin:wpaper:20250010. 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: Tinbergen Office +31 (0)10-4088900 (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tinbenl.html .

    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.