Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/307805 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
Helsinki GSE Discussion Papers No. 24
Publisher: 
Helsinki Graduate School of Economics, Helsinki
Abstract: 
Recent studies use names—first and surnames—to estimate intergenerational mobility in sources that lack direct family links. While generating novel evidence on intergenerational transmission processes, it remains unclear how different estimators compare and how reliable they are. This paper evaluates the most popular namebased methods, using newly digitised records from Finland and U.S. Census data. We illustrate that their interpretation depends on sampling properties of the data, such as the overlap between the parent and child samples, which differ widely across studies. We correct for the attenuation bias from limited overlap and address other common problems encountered in applications.
Subjects: 
intergenerational mobility
intergenerational transmission
statistical method
sample survey
Finland
USA
JEL: 
J62
ISBN: 
978-952-7543-23-8
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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