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Who Gets Ahead? Measuring Income Gaps across Family Backgrounds

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  • Sander de Vries

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute)

Abstract

Measuring income gaps across family backgrounds is crucial for evaluating inequality and informing policy. I develop a multidimensional approach and apply it to Dutch administrative data with exceptionally rich information on parents and extended family. This approach reveals strikingly larger income gaps than standard intergenerational mobility measures, particularly among the most disadvantaged children. A novel decomposition shows that income gaps are largest along parental and extended family income and wealth, though other characteristics matter greatly for specific subgroups. Neighborhoods contribute modestly. Evidence from adoptees suggests that pre-birth factors are an important driver of the observed disparities.

Suggested Citation

  • Sander de Vries, 2025. "Who Gets Ahead? Measuring Income Gaps across Family Backgrounds," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 25-010/V, Tinbergen Institute, revised 02 Oct 2026.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    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

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