Making the most of coresident data: Credible evidence on intergenerational mobility with sibling correlation

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Development Economics
Year: 2025
Volume: 176
Issue: C

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Many available data sets are not used for estimating intergenerational mobility owing to concerns about sample truncation bias in coresident data. Using data from Bangladesh, Chile, Ghana, India, Indonesia, and Mexico, we report the first evidence that the bias in estimated sibling correlation, a broad measure of relative mobility, is small in coresident samples (4.30%), much smaller than that in intergenerational regression coefficient (10.25%). The low bias reflects offsetting effects of sample truncation on the numerator and denominator of the sibling correlation formula. Sibling correlation estimates from coresident samples preserve the correct cross-country ranking 90%–95% times. Our findings have far-reaching implications for researchers working on intergenerational mobility.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:deveco:v:176:y:2025:i:c:s0304387825000598
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25