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The Inheritance of Economic Status: Education, Class, and Genetics

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  • Samuel Bowles
  • Herbert Gintis

Abstract

The perpetuation of a family's position in the distribution of income from parents to children reflects the genetic and cultural transmission of individual traits, as well as the inheritance of group memberships and income-earning assets. We show that the extent of intergenerational economic status transmission is considerably greater than was thought to be the case a generation ago, the genetic inheritance of traits contributing to the cognitive skills measured on IQ and related tests explains very little of the intergenerational transmission of economic status, even if the heritability of IQ is quite high, and the combined genetic and cultural inheritance processes operating through superior wealth, cognitive levels, and educational attainments of those with well-off parents, while important, do not fully explain the intergenerational transmission of economic status. We identify some overlooked idividual traits that enhance economic success that are transmitted across generations.

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  • Samuel Bowles & Herbert Gintis, 2001. "The Inheritance of Economic Status: Education, Class, and Genetics," Working Papers 01-01-005, Santa Fe Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:wop:safiwp:01-01-005
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    Cited by:

    1. Ben-Halima, B. & Chusseau, N. & Hellier, J., 2014. "Skill premia and intergenerational education mobility: The French case," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 50-64.
    2. Dilip Mookherjee & Debraj Ray, 2002. "Is Equality Stable?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 253-259, May.
    3. Simon Burgess & Karen Gardiner & Carol Propper, 2006. "School, Family and County Effects on Adolescents’ Later Life Chances," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 155-184, June.
    4. Justine Burns & Malcolm Keswell, 2011. "Inheriting the Future: Intergenerational Persistence of Educational status in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 71, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    5. Morand, O.F., 2004. "Inequality, mobility, and the transmission of ability," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 533-545, September.

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