Earning Power - Like Father, Like Son?

Most parents try to give their children a helping hand in life, but researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered a particularly close correlation between the earning power of a father and that of his son.

Two US presidents called George Bush, who are also father and son, is not surprising according to their findings. Coming from a wealthy background in the United States it is actually statistically harder to fail, but the reverse is not true.

Despite the rags to riches image of the “Land of Opportunity”, it is twice as difficult for the son of a man in the poorest 20% to improve on his father’s earnings in the USA. By contrast in the Nordic economies, which were included in the research, children of parents in the lowest earning brackets, actually do improve on their inherited lot, more than those in the USA and UK. Initial findings suggest this is partly due to targeted educational policies, yet there is still more to learn, and going forward they may be able to prove or disprove the value of different educational reforms for example, and help to develop accurate social policies that really do create a more level playing field in the future.

Footage:
- Professor and son playing Monopoly
- File footage of President George W Bush and his father, ex-President Bush
- GVs Wall Street, New York City
- GVs Stockholm

Interviewees:
- Professor Robin Naylor, Department of Economics, University of Warwick