Three-generation Mobility in the United States, 1850-1940: The Role of Maternal and Paternal Grandparents

Claudia Olivetti, M. Daniele Paserman and Laura Salisbury

No 22094, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper estimates intergenerational elasticities across three generations in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We extend the methodology in Olivetti and Paserman (2015) to explore the role of maternal and paternal grandfathers for the transmission of economic status to grandsons and granddaughters. We document three main findings. First, grandfathers matter for income transmission, above and beyond their effect on fathers' income. Second, the socio-economic status of grandsons is influenced more strongly by paternal grandfathers than by maternal grandfathers. Third, maternal grandfathers are more important for granddaughters than for grandsons, while the opposite is true for paternal grandfathers. We present a model of multi-trait matching and inheritance that can rationalize these findings.

JEL-codes: J12 J62 N31 N32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gro, nep-his and nep-lab
Note: DAE LS
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published as Claudia Olivetti & M. Daniele Paserman & Laura Salisbury, 2018. "Three-generation Mobility in the United States, 1850-1940: The Role of Maternal and Paternal Grandparents," Explorations in Economic History, .

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Related works:
Journal Article: Three-generation mobility in the United States, 1850–1940: The role of maternal and paternal grandparents (2018)
Working Paper: Three-generation Mobility in the United States, 1850-1940: The Role of Maternal and Paternal Grandparents (2016)
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