Intergenerational Mobility in American History: Accounting for Race and Measurement Error
利用1850-1940年链接人口普查数据，发现考虑种族和测量误差后，代际持续性估计值翻倍，表明过去机会不平等程度比以往研究显示的更严重。
A large body of evidence finds that relative mobility in the US has declined over the past 150 years. However, long-run mobility estimates are usually based on White samples and therefore do not account for the limited opportunities available for nonwhite families. Moreover, historical data measure the father’s status with error, which biases estimates toward greater mobility. Using linked census data from 1850 to 1940, I show that accounting for race and measurement error can double estimates of intergenerational persistence. Updated estimates imply that there is greater equality of opportunity today than in the past, mostly because opportunity was never that equal.