[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp4585.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Nature, Nurture and Egalitarian Policy: What Can We Learn from Molecular Genetics?

Author

Listed:
  • Lundborg, Petter

    (Lund University)

  • Stenberg, Anders

    (SOFI, Stockholm University)

Abstract
This brief paper draws attention to molecular genetic research which may provide a new dimension to our understanding of how socioeconomic outcomes are generated. In particular, we provide an overview of the recently emerging evidence of gene-environment interaction effects. This literature points out specific policy areas which may compensate individuals carrying genetic risks, without resorting to gene mapping of the population. Such policies would also increase intergenerational mobility if genetic and/or environmental risk factors are more common in socially disadvantaged groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Lundborg, Petter & Stenberg, Anders, 2009. "Nature, Nurture and Egalitarian Policy: What Can We Learn from Molecular Genetics?," IZA Discussion Papers 4585, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4585
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp4585.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anders Björklund & Mikael Lindahl & Erik Plug, 2006. "The Origins of Intergenerational Associations: Lessons from Swedish Adoption Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(3), pages 999-1028.
    2. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2009. "The Economics and Psychology of Inequality and Human DEvelopment," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(2-3), pages 320-364, 04-05.
    3. Bruce Sacerdote, 2002. "The Nature and Nurture of Economic Outcomes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 344-348, May.
    4. Erik Plug & Wim Vijverberg, 2003. "Schooling, Family Background, and Adoption: Is It Nature or Is It Nurture?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 611-641, June.
    5. 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.
    6. James J. Heckman, 2008. "Schools, Skills, And Synapses," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 46(3), pages 289-324, July.
    7. Björklund Anders & Jäntti Markus & Solon Gary, 2007. "Nature and Nurture in the Intergenerational Transmission of Socioeconomic Status: Evidence from Swedish Children and Their Biological and Rearing Parents," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, November.
    8. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2009. "The Economics & Psychology of Inequality and Human Development," Working Papers 200905, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    9. Smith, Susan Livingston & Howard, Jeanne A. & Monroe, Alan D., 2000. "Issues underlying behavior problems in at-risk adopted children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(7), pages 539-562, July.
    10. Case, Anne & Lin, I-Fen & McLanahan, Sara, 2000. "How Hungry Is the Selfish Gene?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(466), pages 781-804, October.
    11. Haoming Liu & Jinli Zeng, 2009. "Genetic ability and intergenerational earnings mobility," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 22(1), pages 75-95, January.
    12. Alford, John R. & Funk, Carolyn L. & Hibbing, John R., 2005. "Are Political Orientations Genetically Transmitted?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 99(2), pages 153-167, May.
    13. Behrman, Jere R & Taubman, Paul, 1989. "Is Schooling "Mostly in the Genes"? Nature-N urture Decomposition Using Data on Relatives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(6), pages 1425-1446, December.
    14. James J. Heckman, 2007. "The Economics, Technology and Neuroscience of Human Capability Formation," NBER Working Papers 13195, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. David Cesarini & Magnus Johannesson & Paul Lichtenstein & Björn Wallace, 2009. "Heritability of Overconfidence," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(2-3), pages 617-627, 04-05.
    16. Bruce Sacerdote, 2007. "How Large are the Effects from Changes in Family Environment? A Study of Korean American Adoptees," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(1), pages 119-157.
    17. Taubman, Paul, 1976. "The Determinants of Earnings: Genetics, Family, and Other Environments; A Study of White Male Twins," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(5), pages 858-870, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Niknami, Susan, 2010. "Intergenerational Transmission of Education among Immigrant Mothers and their Daughters in Sweden," Working Paper Series 7/2010, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    2. Angel, Ronald J., 2011. "Agency versus structure: Genetics, group membership, and a new twist on an old debate," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(5), pages 632-635, September.
    3. Gränsmark, Patrik, 2010. "A Rib Less Makes you Consistent but Impatient: A Gender Comparison of Expert Chess Players," Working Paper Series 5/2010, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lundborg, Petter & Stenberg, Anders, 2010. "Nature, nurture and socioeconomic policy--What can we learn from molecular genetics?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 320-330, December.
    2. Laurent E. Calvet & Paolo Sodini, 2014. "Twin Picks: Disentangling the Determinants of Risk-Taking in Household Portfolios," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(2), pages 867-906, April.
    3. Ari Hyytinen & Pekka Ilmakunnas & Edvard Johansson & Otto Toivanen, 2019. "Heritability of lifetime earnings," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(3), pages 319-335, September.
    4. 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.
    5. Hyytinen, Ari & Ilmakunnas, Pekka & Johansson, Edvard & Toivanen, Otto, 2013. "Heritability of Lifetime Income," MPRA Paper 46326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Hjalmarsson, Randi & Lindquist, Matthew J., 2013. "The origins of intergenerational associations in crime: Lessons from Swedish adoption data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 68-81.
    7. Pereira, Rita & Biroli, Pietro & von hinke, stephanie & Van Kippersluis, Hans & Galama, Titus & Rietveld, Niels & Thom, Kevin, 2022. "Gene-Environment Interplay in the Social Sciences," OSF Preprints d96z3, Center for Open Science.
    8. Stenberg, Anders, 2013. "Interpreting estimates of heritability – A note on the twin decomposition," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 201-205.
    9. Holmlund, Helena & Lindahl, Mikael & Plug, Erik, 2010. "The Causal Eff ect of Parent’s Schooling on Children’s Schooling," Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies 2010:8, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    10. Bingley, Paul & Cappellari, Lorenzo & Tatsiramos, Konstantinos, 2023. "On the Origins of Socio-Economic Inequalities: Evidence from Twin Families," IZA Discussion Papers 16520, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Michelle M. Miller & Frank McIntyre, 2020. "Does Money Matter for Intergenerational Income Transmission?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(3), pages 941-970, January.
    12. Helena Holmlund & Mikael Lindahl & Erik Plug, 2011. "The Causal Effect of Parents' Schooling on Children's Schooling: A Comparison of Estimation Methods," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 615-651, September.
    13. Henrik Cronqvist & Florian Münkel & Stephan Siegel, 2014. "Genetics, Homeownership, and Home Location Choice," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 79-111, January.
    14. Xu, Yilan & Briley, Daniel A. & Brown, Jeffrey R. & Roberts, Brent W., 2017. "Genetic and environmental influences on household financial distress," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 404-424.
    15. Kumanomido, Hiroshi & Takayasu, Yutaro, 2024. "Elite Persistence in Family: The Role of Adoption in Prewar Japan," OSF Preprints rmdyp, Center for Open Science.
    16. Barnea, Amir & Cronqvist, Henrik & Siegel, Stephan, 2010. "Nature or nurture: What determines investor behavior?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 583-604, December.
    17. Marte E. S. Ulvestad & Simen Markussen, 2023. "Born or bred? The roles of nature and nurture for intergenerational persistence in labour market outcomes," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 1005-1047, April.
    18. Michael Beenstock, 2008. "Deconstructing the Sibling Correlation: How Families Increase Inequality," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 325-345, September.
    19. Fletcher, Jason, 2023. "Decoupling genetics from attainments: The role of social environments," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    20. Silke Anger & Guido Heineck, 2010. "Do smart parents raise smart children? The intergenerational transmission of cognitive abilities," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(3), pages 1105-1132, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    molecular genetics; interaction; environment; gene; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4585. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.