Has the intergenerational transmission of economic status changed?

Susan E. Mayer, Leonard M. Lopoo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

Only a few studies have tried to estimate the trend in the elasticity of children's economic status with respect to parents' economic status, and these studies produce conflicting results. In an attempt to reconcile these findings, we use the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to estimate the trend in the elasticity of son's income with respect to parental income. Our evidence suggests a nonlinear trend in which the elasticity increased for sons born between 1949 and 1953, and then declined for sons born after that. Thus depending on the time periods one compares, the trend could be upward, downward, or flat. This and other factors help explain the different estimates for the trend in mobility.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)169-185
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Human Resources
Volume40
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Strategy and Management
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

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