The intent of the present paper is to begin an investigation of the impact of parental wealth on living standards in the State of Israel. Israel was chosen as the research setting because there is reason to expect that household wealth has a greater impact on living standards in that country than in the United States. To the extent this is true, the task of unraveling the pathways by which parental wealth influences living standards should be easier with Israeli data. At the same time, it must be noted that some of the structural arrangements that make for the heightened importance of wealth in Israel have little counterpart in the United States. From the perspective of extrapolating to the American context, this is a disadvantage. However, it is an asset if one seeks to understand the variety of ways by which elements of social structure can influence the respective contributions made by household wealth and labor market income to living standards.
Project: Inclusion in Asset Building: Research and Policy Symposium
Citation
Spilerman, S. (2000). The impact of parental wealth on living standards in Israel (CSD Working Paper No. 00-5). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.