On the Intergenerational Transmission of Economic Status
构建了一个包含生命周期投资、大学决策和在职积累的模型，解释代际弹性与横截面不平等，发现早期投资和年轻父母的约束是代际持续性的关键，教育补贴可降低代际传递。
We present a model in which human capital investments occur over the life-cycle and across generations, à la Becker and Tomes (1986), also featuring incomplete markets and government transfer programs. The human capital technology features multiple stages of investment during childhood, a college decision, and on-the-job accumulation. The model can jointly explain a wide range of intergenerational relationships, such as the intergenerational elasticities (IGE) of lifetime earnings, college attainment and wealth, while remaining empirically consistent with cross-sectional inequality. Much of life-cycle inequality is determined early in life, which in turn is explained in large part by parental background. The model implies that this is mainly due to early investments in children made by young parents, so life-cycle constraints these parents face are important for understanding the persistence of economic status across generations. Education subsidies, especially early on, can significantly reduce the intergenerational persistence of economic status.