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Nature-Nurture Interplay: Evidence from Molecular Genetic and Pedigree Data in Korean American Adoptees

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Beauchamp

    (University of Toronto)

  • Lauren Schmitz

    (University of Wisconsin - Madison)

  • Matthew McGue

    (University of Minnesota)

  • James Lee

    (University of Minnesota)

Abstract
In a sample of Korean adoptees who have been quasi-randomly assigned to US adoptive families and who have been genotyped, we examine the influences and interplay of genetics (“nature†) and shared family environment (“nurture†) on a suite of outcomes. We use molecular genetic data to construct polygenic indices (PGIs) that partially predict the outcomes and examine the effects of the PGIs as well as those of a rich set of family variables. We also compare the resemblance of adoptive and biological siblings to decompose outcome variation into shares due to nature and nurture. We find that both nature and nurture causally affect most outcomes and that the influence of the PGIs tends to be of a similar magnitude to that of the observed family variables. Nurture appears particularly important for education, income, and nicotine usage, while nature has a particularly strong influence on GPA, soft skills, cognitive performance, BMI, and height. Nurture effects on education and smoking are partly traceable to rearing parents’ genetics. We investigate interactive effects and obtain suggestive evidence that family socioeconomic status and genetic propensity for educational attainment may be substitutes in the human capital production function for cognitive skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Beauchamp & Lauren Schmitz & Matthew McGue & James Lee, 2023. "Nature-Nurture Interplay: Evidence from Molecular Genetic and Pedigree Data in Korean American Adoptees," Working Papers 2023-030, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2023-030
    Note: MIP
    as

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    File URL: http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Beauchamp_Schmitz_McGue_etal_2023_nature-nurture-interplay.pdf
    File Function: First version, November 2023
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    File URL: http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Beauchamp_Schmitz_McGue_etal_2023_nature-nurture-interplay_APPENDIX.pdf
    File Function: Online appendix
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Behrman, Jere R & Taubman, Paul, 1976. "Intergenerational Transmission of Income and Wealth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(2), pages 436-440, May.
    2. Andreas Fagereng & Magne Mogstad & Marte Rønning, 2021. "Why Do Wealthy Parents Have Wealthy Children?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(3), pages 703-756.
    3. Kaili Rimfeld & Eva Krapohl & Maciej Trzaskowski & Jonathan R. I. Coleman & Saskia Selzam & Philip S. Dale & Tonu Esko & Andres Metspalu & Robert Plomin, 2018. "Genetic influence on social outcomes during and after the Soviet era in Estonia," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 2(4), pages 269-275, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Edwards, Tobias & Giannelis, Alexandros & Willoughby, Emily A. & Lee, James J., 2024. "Predicting political beliefs with polygenic scores for cognitive performance and educational attainment," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    polygenic indices; siblings; socioeconomic status;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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