APPLIED MICRO: Climbing the Ivory Tower: How Socio-Economic Background Shapes Academia; Dr Carlo Schwarz (Bocconi University)

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of socio-economic background on academic careers in the United States. We construct a novel dataset that links the near-universe of US academics to full-count censuses, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between parental occupation, socio-economic status, and academic outcomes. The findings indicate that US academics are heavily selected based on socio-economic background. We also document significant variations in socio-economic selectivity by academic discipline and university. Additionally, we show that academics are significantly more likely to work in disciplines that are related to their father’s occupation. Conditional on making it to academia, there are no differences in careers and scientific productivity, but we find significant differences in productivity for academics that work in patrimonial disciplines.