Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
Most studies suggest that family background has strong effect on earnings both directly and indirectly through the returns to own education. However, such effects might reflect the influence of family background on entry into work rather than a productive effect on earnings. The paper uses data from a survey of sixteen to twenty-nine year olds in urban Ethiopia to examine the impact of family background on selection into work and earnings. Family background strongly influences entry into the public sector; accounting for such selection removes its impact on earnings. This contrasts with the persistence of family background effects on private sector earnings. Copyright 1996 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd