Genes, Education, and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

Nicholas Papageorge and Kevin Thom

No 25114, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Recent advances have led to the discovery of specific genetic variants that predict educational attainment. We study how these variants, summarized as a linear index — known as a polygenic score — are associated with human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We present two main sets of results. First, we find evidence that the genetic factors measured by this score interact strongly with childhood socioeconomic status in determining educational outcomes. In particular, while the polygenic score predicts higher rates of college graduation on average, this relationship is substantially stronger for individuals who grew up in households with higher socioeconomic status relative to those who grew up in poorer households. Second, the polygenic score predicts labor earnings even after adjusting for completed education, with larger returns in more recent decades. These patterns suggest that the genetic traits that promote education might allow workers to better accommodate ongoing skill biased technological change. Consistent with this interpretation, we find a positive association between the polygenic score and non-routine analytic tasks that have benefited from the introduction of new technologies. Nonetheless, the college premium remains the dominant determinant of earnings differences at all levels of the polygenic score. Given the role of childhood SES in predicting college attainment, this raises concerns about wasted potential arising from limited household resources.

JEL-codes: I10 I24 J01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
Note: AG ED LS
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published as Nicholas W Papageorge & Kevin Thom, 2020. "Genes, Education, and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," Journal of the European Economic Association, vol 18(3), pages 1351-1399.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Genes, Education, and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study (2020)
Working Paper: Genes, Education, and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study (2018)
Working Paper: Genes, Education, and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study (2016)
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