Nepotism vs. Specific Skills: The effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental background of Italian lawyers

Michele Raitano and Francesco Vona

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2021, vol. 184, issue C, 489-505

Abstract: We study mechanisms of intergenerational inequality amongst Italian lawyers over 1994–2014 using a longitudinal dataset that combines administrative and survey data. First, we estimate a 10.6% earnings premium for a law family background within the group of lawyers, conditional on entering the profession. Then, we exploit the 2003–2006 liberalization process, which asymmetrically affected the two main transmission mechanisms: skill transfer and nepotism. We find that this liberalization squeezed the law family background return by between one-half and two-thirds, thus revealing a high incidence of nepotism. The bulk of the reduction occurred at the top of the earnings distribution, suggesting the breaking of a glass ceiling.

Keywords: Intergenerational inequality; Social mobility; Nepotism; Specific skills; Market regulation; Top occupations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Nepotism vs specific skills: the effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental back ground of Italian lawyers (2018)
Working Paper: Nepotism vs specific skills: the effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental back grounds of italian lawyers (2018)
Working Paper: Nepotism vs specific skills: the effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental back grounds of italian lawyers (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:184:y:2021:i:c:p:489-505

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.02.009

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