Like a Good Neighbor: Childhood Neighbors Influence Occupation Choice

Michael Andrews, Ryan Hill, Joseph Price and Riley Wilson

No 13051, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We study how childhood neighbors influence occupational choices and later-life earnings. Using linked census records for over 10 million children and historic census sheet microgeography, we find that growing up next door to someone in a given occupation increases the probability of being in that occupation as an adult by 10 percent relative to other children on the same street. The transmission effect is higher with more intense exposure, more connected neighborhoods, and between more similar families. Exposure to high-income or highly educated neighbors has lasting economic effects, leading to significant gains in adult income and education.

Keywords: neighborhood networks; peer effects; occupational transmission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J62 N32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_13051

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