Elite universities and the intergenerational transmission of human and social capital

Andrés Barrios-Fernández, Christopher Neilson and Seth Zimmerman

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Do elite colleges help talented students join the social elite, or help incumbent elites retain their positions? We combine intergenerationally-linked data from Chile with a regression discontinuity design to show that, looking across generations, elite colleges do both. Lower-status individuals who gain admission to elite college programs transform their children's social environment. Children become more likely to attend high-status private schools and colleges, and to live near and befriend high-status peers. In contrast, academic achievement is unaffected. Simulations combining descriptive and quasi-experimental findings show that elite colleges tighten the link between social and human capital while decreasing intergenerational social mobility.

Keywords: elite universities; intergenerational mobility; human capital; social capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D64 I20 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59 pages
Date: 2024-08-28
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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/126793/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Elite universities and the intergenerational transmission of human and social capital (2024)
Working Paper: Elite Universities and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human and Social Capital (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:126793

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