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Intergenerational Mobility in the Very Long Run: Florence 1427–2011
[Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the United States, 1940 to 2000]

Author

Listed:
  • Guglielmo Barone
  • Sauro Mocetti
Abstract
We examine intergenerational mobility in the very long run, across generations that are six centuries apart. We exploit a unique dataset containing detailed information at the individual level for all people living in the Italian city of Florence in 1427. These individuals have been associated, using their surnames, with their pseudo-descendants living in Florence in 2011. We find that long-run earnings elasticity is about 0.04; we also find an even stronger role for real wealth inheritance and evidence of persistence in belonging to certain elite occupations. Our results are confirmed when we account for the quality of the pseudo-links and when we address the potential selectivity bias behind the matching process. Finally, we frame our results within the existing evidence and argue that the quasi-immobility of preindustrial society and the existence of multigenerational effects might explain the long-lasting effects of ancestors’ socioeconomic status.

Suggested Citation

  • Guglielmo Barone & Sauro Mocetti, 2021. "Intergenerational Mobility in the Very Long Run: Florence 1427–2011 [Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the United States, 1940 to 2000]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(4), pages 1863-1891.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:88:y:2021:i:4:p:1863-1891.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdaa075
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational mobility; Earnings; Wealth; Occupations; Informational content of surnames; Florence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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