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How Much Does Sorting Increase Inequality?

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Author Info
Michael Kremer

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Abstract

Social commentators from William Julius Wilson to Charles Murray have argued that increased sorting of people into internally homogeneous" neighborhoods,schools, and marriages is spurring long-run inequality. Cali- bration of a formal model suggests that these fears are misplaced. In order to increase the steady-state standard deviation of education by one percent, the correlation between neighbors' education would have to double, or the correlation between spouses' education would have to increase by one-third. In fact, both correlations have declined slightly over the past few decades. Sorting has somewhat more significant effects on intergenerational mobility than on inequality."

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 5566.

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Date of creation: May 1996
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Publication status: published as Quarterly Journal of Economics (February 1997): 15-139.
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:5566

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
D91 - Microeconomics - - Intertemporal Choice and Growth - - - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving

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  2. Kremer, Michael, 1993. "The O-Ring Theory of Economic Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(3), pages 551-75, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. George J. Borjas, 1994. "Ethnicity, Neighborhoods, and Human Capital Externalities," NBER Working Papers 4912, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Kremer, M. & Maskin, E., 1995. "Segregation by Skill and the Rise in Inequality," Papers e-95-7, Stanford - Hoover Institution.
  5. Casey B. Mulligan, . "Economic and Biological Approaches to Inheritance: Some Evidence 1996," University of Chicago - Population Research Center 95-14, Chicago - Population Research Center.
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  8. repec:att:wimass:199329 is not listed on IDEAS
  9. Lam, David & Schoeni, Robert F, 1993. "Effects of Family Background on Earnings and Returns to Schooling: Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(4), pages 710-40, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Arnott, Richard & Rowse, John, 1987. "Peer group effects and educational attainment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 287-305, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. repec:att:wimass:199217 is not listed on IDEAS
  12. Solon, Gary, 1992. "Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 393-408, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Borjas, George J, 1992. "Ethnic Capital and Intergenerational Mobility," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(1), pages 123-50, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Blinder, Alan S, 1976. "Inequality and Mobility in the Distribution of Wealth," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(4), pages 607-38.
  15. Lam, D. & Schoeni, R.F., 1993. "Family Ties and Labor Markets in the United States and Brazil," Papers 93-25, RAND - Labor and Population Program.
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  16. Nancy A. Jianakoplos & Paul L. Menchik, 1997. "Wealth Mobility," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(1), pages 18-31, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Anne C. Case & Lawrence F. Katz, 1991. "The Company You Keep: The Effects of Family and Neighborhood on Disad- vantaged Youths," NBER Working Papers 3705, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Bénabou, Roland, 1993. "Heterogeneity, Stratification and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 815, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Fernandez, R. & Rogerson, R., 1992. "Income Distribution, Communities and the Quality of Public Education: A Policy Analysis," Papers 1, Boston University - Department of Economics.
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  20. Becker, Gary S & Tomes, Nigel, 1979. "An Equilibrium Theory of the Distribution of Income and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1153-89, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Mary Corcoran & Roger H. Gordon & Deborah Laren & Gary Solon, 1989. "Effects of Family and Community Background on Men's Economic Status," NBER Working Papers 2896, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  23. Menchik, Paul L, 1979. "Inter-generational Transmission of Inequality: An Empirical Study of Wealth Mobility," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 46(184), pages 349-62, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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