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Beyond the Parental Generation: The Influence of Grandfathers and Great-grandfathers on Status Attainment

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  • Antonie Knigge

    (Utrecht University)

Abstract

Studies on intergenerational social mobility usually examine the extent to which social positions of one generation determine the social positions of the next. This study investigates whether the persistence of inequality can be expected to stretch over more than two generations. Using a multigenerational version of GENLIAS, a large-scale database containing information from digitized Dutch marriage certificates during 1812–1922, this study describes and explains the influence of grandfathers and great-grandfathers on the occupational status attainment of 119,662 men in the Netherlands during industrialization. Multilevel regression models show that both grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s status influence the status attainment of men, after fathers and uncles are taken into account. Whereas the influence of the father and uncles decreases over time, that of the grandfather and great-grandfather remains stable. The results further suggest that grandfathers influence their grandsons through contact but also without being in contact with them. Although the gain in terms of explained variance from using a multigenerational model is moderate, leaving out the influence of the extended family considerably misrepresents the influence of the family on status attainment.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonie Knigge, 2016. "Beyond the Parental Generation: The Influence of Grandfathers and Great-grandfathers on Status Attainment," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(4), pages 1219-1244, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:53:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s13524-016-0486-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-016-0486-6
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    Cited by:

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    2. Adrian Adermon & Mikael Lindahl & Daniel Waldenström, 2018. "Intergenerational Wealth Mobility and the Role of Inheritance: Evidence from Multiple Generations," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(612), pages 482-513, July.
    3. Jørgen Modalsli, 2023. "Multigenerational Persistence: Evidence from 146 Years of Administrative Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(3), pages 929-961.
    4. Matthias Rosenbaum-Feldbrügge, 2019. "The Impact of Parental Death in Childhood on Sons’ and Daughters’ Status Attainment in Young Adulthood in the Netherlands, 1850–1952," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(5), pages 1827-1854, October.
    5. Karsten Hank & Giulia Cavrini & Giorgio Gessa & Cecilia Tomassini, 2018. "What do we know about grandparents? Insights from current quantitative data and identification of future data needs," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 225-235, September.
    6. Xi Song & Robert D. Mare, 2019. "Shared Lifetimes, Multigenerational Exposure, and Educational Mobility," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(3), pages 891-916, June.
    7. Martin Nybom & Jan Stuhler, 2019. "Steady-state assumptions in intergenerational mobility research," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(1), pages 77-97, March.
    8. Ian Lundberg, 2020. "Does Opportunity Skip Generations? Reassessing Evidence From Sibling and Cousin Correlations," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1193-1213, August.
    9. Pujadas-Mora, Joana-Maria & Brea-Martinez, Gabriel, 2020. "The increasing influence of siblings in social mobility. A long-term historical view (Barcelona area, 16th-19th centuries)," SocArXiv sf6vj, Center for Open Science.

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