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  5. Elite Universities and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human and Social Capital

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Elite Universities and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human and Social Capital

  • Andrés Barrios-Fernández
  • Christopher Neilson
  • Seth Zimmerman
American Economic Review (Forthcoming)

Abstract

Do elite colleges help talented students join the social elite, or help incumbent elites retain their positions? We combine intergenerationally-linked data from Chile with a regression discontinuity design to show that, looking across generations, elite colleges do both. Lower-status individuals who gain admission to elite college programs transform their children’s social environment. Children become more likely to attend high-status private schools and colleges, and to live near and befriend high-status peers. In contrast, academic achievement is unaffected. Simulations combining descriptive and quasi-experimental findings show that elite colleges tighten the link between social and human capital while decreasing intergenerational social mobility.

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