Hybrideseminar: A Chip Off The Old Block? Genetics and The Intergenerational Transmission of Socioeconomic Status

We study how one generation’s genetics affects the next generation’s economic prospects. Genetic data from the Dutch Lifelines Biobank are merged to annual tax records for the period 2006-2021. Our identification strategy exploits the randomness in the genetic transmission from parents to offspring. A parent’s genetics influences their offspring’s education, income, and wealth. These effects are relatively large when compared to the impacts on parent’s own outcomes, and cannot be explained by the transmission of genetic makeup alone. We study the channels through which parent’s genetics influences their offspring’s socioeconomic status. Genetic transmission accounts for at least 2/3 of effects on education and income but for only 1/3 of the effect on net wealth.