Schooling, Family Background, and Adoption: Is it Nature or is it Nurture?

34 Pages Posted: 11 Apr 2001

See all articles by Erik Plug

Erik Plug

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam School of Economics (ASE); Tinbergen Institute; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Wim P.M. Vijverberg

CUNY The Graduate Center - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 2001

Abstract

When parents are more educated, their children tend to receive more schooling as well. Does this occur because parental ability is passed on genetically or because more educated parents provide a better environment for children to flourish? Using an intergenerational sample of families, we estimate on the basis of a comparison of biological and adopted children that at most 65 percent of the parental ability is genetically transmitted.

Keywords: Intergenerational mobility, human capital, genetic transfers, adoption

JEL Classification: I21, J13, J24

Suggested Citation

Plug, Erik and Vijverberg, Wim, Schooling, Family Background, and Adoption: Is it Nature or is it Nurture? (January 2001). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=265624 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.265624

Erik Plug (Contact Author)

University of Amsterdam - Amsterdam School of Economics (ASE) ( email )

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Tinbergen Institute

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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Wim Vijverberg

CUNY The Graduate Center - Department of Economics ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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