A Bayesian analysis of the spatial concentration of individual wealth in the US North during the nineteenth century

Kin effects can be difficult to distinguish from those of spatial proximity, since kin tend to live close to each other. Thus, past research showing correlations between the wealth of relatives may be showing the effects of proximity and shared locations, not the effects of kin. Data comes from a ge...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Demographic research 2014, Vol.30, p.1035-1074
Main Authors: Kasakoff, Alice Bee, Lawson, Andrew B., Van Meter, Emily M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
American history
Bayesian
Bayesian analysis
Bayesian statistical decision theory
Brothers
Censuses
Datasets
Demographics
Economic aspects
Families & family life
Fathers
Fathers and sons
historical
Human capital
Income inequality
Men
Migration
Modeling
Nineteenth Century
Research Article
Social aspects
Sons
Spatial models
United States of America
Wealth
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Summary:Kin effects can be difficult to distinguish from those of spatial proximity, since kin tend to live close to each other. Thus, past research showing correlations between the wealth of relatives may be showing the effects of proximity and shared locations, not the effects of kin. Data comes from a genealogical sample that has been linked to the US census of 1860. The genealogies allow us to identify fathers, sons, and brothers, information that is not available from the census itself. A Bayesian hierarchical approach can model family and spatial effects at the same time, thereby distinguishing them from each other. Data on fathers and sons is difficult to interpret from a single time. Many of the fathers in the census had died, so the sample size was small. A man's wealth was positively associated with his brothers' average wealth, even after their father had died. Therefore, there was evidence for lasting family effects; however, proximity to the other brothers was not related to an individual's wealth.
ISSN:1435-9871
2363-7064
1435-9871
DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.36