The Influence of Family Background on Education, Earnings, and Wealth

Abstract

Tthis paper examines the extent to which wealth explains the relationship between family background and adult economic status for white and black males. Wealth is treated both as a component of family background and as a measure of adult economic status. The findings reveal that parental wealth influences schooling independent of other, social components of family environment. For white males, parental wealth has a direct effect on earnings, even controllingfor its effect on schooling. Also, for white males, parental wealth exerts a direct and stronger effect on son's wealth after controlling for its effects on schooling and earnings. The issue of equality of opportunity has generated a good deal of research. Most of this work has attempted to answer two related questions: How strong is the influence of family background on adult economic status? How is inequality transmitted from one generation to another? The answers to these questions vary greatly and have stirred up considerable