The Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Attainment Revisited: The Effects of Socioeconomic Background, Genetic Inheritance, and Cohort

This research revisits the intertwined social and biological pathways of the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment. By estimating the effects of the whole-genome genetic variants by the continuation ratio logit regressions using 8,251 samples from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), and considering for socioeconomic status in childhood on education at the same time, I first examine the relative individual impacts of biological and social influences. Then, I consider how parental education shapes the expression of the genetic potential by including moderating effects between the two. Finally, I explore the curvilinear trend of genetic effects over time, and use cohort separated models to investigate the decline in the moderating effects of parental education on educational attainment. The findings suggest the influences are from both genes and family socioeconomic background. Also, the genetic effects were not only negatively moderated by socioeconomic background, but changed curvilinearly over time corresponding to the expansion of higher education in the mid-twentieth century in the U.S. The pattern indicates the educational opportunities equalized at first but saturated after higher education became more accessible. This study furthers the understanding of the social mobility process and provides suggestions for policymakers on education.