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Heritability and public policy reconsidered, again

Author

Listed:
  • Cornelius A. Rietveld

    (Erasmus School of Economics)

Abstract
I offer a way out of the Taubman-Goldberger controversy on the public policy (ir)relevance of heritability studies by arguing for a quasi-experimentally controlled comparison of the estimates that these studies provide. If the environments individuals are exposed to are under such control, changes in the genetic and the common environment (family) variance components underlying inter-individual differences can be ex-post informative regarding the evolvement of sources of inequalities in a population. Using administrative data from the Netherlands, I empirically illustrate this reappraisal of heritability studies by estimating two different gene-environment interactions in test scores from a high- stakes national educational achievement test.

Suggested Citation

  • Cornelius A. Rietveld, 2024. "Heritability and public policy reconsidered, again," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 24-012/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20240012
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    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/24012.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    5. Thomas Cornelissen & Christian Dustmann, 2019. "Early School Exposure, Test Scores, and Noncognitive Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 35-63, May.
    6. David Cesarini & Christopher T. Dawes & Magnus Johannesson & Paul Lichtenstein & Björn Wallace, 2009. "Genetic Variation in Preferences for Giving and Risk Taking," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 809-842.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Equality of opportunity; Inequality; Heritability; Public policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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