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Family Background, Race, and Labor Market Inequality

Department of Sociology at New York University (NYU), Mount Sinai School of Medicine, National Bureau of Economic Research

Rebecca Glauber

Department of Sociology at New York University

For decades, social scientists have relied on sibling correlations as indicative of the effect of "global family background" on socioeconomic status. This study advances this line of inquiry by drawing on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to analyze racial differences in siblings' labor market and socioeconomic outcomes. We find that African Americans have lower sibling correlations in labor market earnings and family income than whites. Across the life course, African American siblings move toward greater resemblance than whites. These findings suggest that the effect of family background on socioeconomic outcomes is weaker for African Americans than for whites. Volatility in earlier career stages may suppress the effect of family background on labor market outcomes, and this dynamic is especially pronounced for African Americans who lack resources to insulate themselves from volatile events.

Key Words: family background • stratification • racial inequality • labor markets • siblings

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 609, No. 1, 134-152 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0002716206296090


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