Search Results

Title: Galton versus the Human Capital Approach to Inheritance
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Mulligan, Casey B.
Galton versus the Human Capital Approach to Inheritance
Journal of Political Economy 107,6 (December 1999): S184-S224.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/250108
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Human Capital; Inheritance; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)

A century ago, Francis Galton proposed a simple yet powerful model of inheritance. Gary Becker's human capital model is often used to analyze important empirical and policy questions, but does it dominate Galton's from a positive point of view? I derive nine implications of the human capital approach that are distinct from Galton's. Evidence from the PSID, SCF, and NLSY micro data sets as well as results reported in previous literatures suggest that four of the unique implications are refuted. Two implications are verified, and mixed results are obtained for three others. Some extensions of economics recently developed by Becker and others, when applied to inheritance, may improve economics' predictions.
Bibliography Citation
Mulligan, Casey B. "Galton versus the Human Capital Approach to Inheritance." Journal of Political Economy 107,6 (December 1999): S184-S224.