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From the Cradle to the Grave: The Influence of Family Background on the Career Path of Italian Men

Author

Listed:
  • Michele Raitano

    (UNIROMA - Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" = Sapienza University [Rome])

  • Francesco Vona

    (OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po)

Abstract
This paper investigates the influence of parental education on the returns to experience of Italian men using a new longitudinal dataset that contains detailed information on individual working histories. Our favourite panel estimates indicate that an additional year of parental education increases sons' weekly wages by 11.7% after twenty years of experience and that 71% of this effect emerges during the career. We show that this effect holds irrespective of individual abilities, and it appears the result of both a glass ceiling effect, due to the complementarity between parental education and son's abilities, and a parachute effect, associated with family labour market connections.

Suggested Citation

  • Michele Raitano & Francesco Vona, 2015. "From the Cradle to the Grave: The Influence of Family Background on the Career Path of Italian Men," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03460026, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-03460026
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal-sciencespo.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03460026
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    Cited by:

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    2. Struffolino, Emanuela & Raitano, Michele, 2020. "Early-career complexity before and after labour-market deregulation in Italy: Heterogeneity by gender and socio-economic status across cohorts," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 151(1), pages 231-257.
    3. Bavaro, Michele & Patriarca, Fabrizio, 2022. "Referrals, intergenerational mobility and human capital accumulation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
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    5. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6dffcvpj8t96bpc00heumik4e0 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Francesco Bloise & Michele Raitano, 2021. "Intergenerational Earnings Persistence in Italy between Actual Father–Son Pairs Accounting for Lifecycle and Attenuation Bias," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(1), pages 88-114, February.
    7. Francesco Bloise & Michele Raitano, 2019. "Intergenerational earnings elasticity of actual father-son pairs in Italy accounting for lifecycle and attenuation bias," Working Papers 504, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    8. Silvia Avram & Olga Canto, 2016. "Labour outcomes and family background: Evidence from the EU during the recession," Working Papers 414, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    9. Raitano, Michele & Vona, Francesco, 2021. "Nepotism vs. Specific Skills: The effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental background of Italian lawyers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 489-505.
    10. Bonacini, Luca & Patriarca, Fabrizio & Santoni, Edoardo, 2024. "Background wage premia, beyond education: firm sorting and unobserved abilities," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1459, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Arntz, Melanie & Lipowski, Cäcilia & Neidhöfer, Guido & Zierahn, Ulrich, 2022. "Computers as stepping stones? Technological change and equality of labor market opportunities," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-014, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational inequality; Parental education; Experience-earnings profiles;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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