Gene

Labour economics

Biology

Rank (graph theory)

Grandparent

Accounting

Archaeology

Developmental psychology

Economics

Biochemistry

Genetics

Inheritance (genetic algorithm)

Psychology

Mathematics

Geography

Demographic economics

Earnings

Quarter (Canadian coin)

Sociology

Combinatorics

Grandchild

Social mobility

Social science

The Economic Journal

This study estimates intergenerational wealth correlations across up to four generations and examines the degree to which the wealth association between parents and children can be explained by inheritances. Using a Swedish data set with newly hand‐collected data on wealth and bequests, we find parent‐child rank correlations of 0.3–0.4 and grandparent–grandchild rank correlations of 0.1–0.2. Bequests and gifts appear to be central in this process, accounting for at least half of the parent–child wealth correlation while earnings and education can account for only a quarter.

Intergenerational Wealth Mobility and the Role of Inheritance: Evidence from Multiple Generations