Economic Interpretations of Intergenerational Correlations / Nathan D. Grawe, Casey B. Mulligan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grawe, Nathan D.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mulligan, Casey B.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8948.

NBER working paper series no. w8948

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2002.

Summary:

Economic theory offers interpretations of intergenerational correlations that are different from the theories of other disciplines, and have important policy implications. Our paper presents a subset of those theories, and shows how they are consistent with observed mobility patterns as they vary across countries, demographic groups, and economic status measure. The data may suggest that the economic approach overemphasizes credit constraints, although more work is needed to further develop some of the alternative economic models. We also show how, in the models, 'progressive' policy may reduce mobility depending on how the policy is administered and how mobility is measured.

Notes:

Print version record

May 2002.