Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: The sibling correlation, or intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), is a widely used omnibus measure of the total impact of family background on socioeconomic outcomes in social stratification research. A growing literature compares these correlations across subgroups defined by family-level characteristics (e.g., race, parental education) to test theories of social reproduction, such as parental compensation or reinforcement. In this note, I highlight the ambiguities involved in meaningfully interpreting such subgroup variation. I first define the theoretical estimand of intergenerational transmission that researchers are arguably most interested in, and then formally demonstrate why group-specific ICCs do not identify this estimand. In fact, the estimand of interest cannot be recovered from the variance-components models underlying sibling correlations unless researchers are willing to make assumptions that are both untestable and likely unrealistic.
Author: Kristian Bernt Karlson
Institution: University of Copenhagen
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4414350797
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