The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape Colony

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dc.creatorPiraino, Patrizio
dc.creatorMuller, Sean
dc.creatorCilliers, Jeanne
dc.creatorFourie, Johan
dc.date2013-10-31T14:10:30Z
dc.date2013-10-31T14:10:30Z
dc.date2013-10
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-28T10:06:29Z
dc.date.available2015-05-28T10:06:29Z
dc.date.issued2015-05-28
dc.descriptionEvidence on long-term multigenerational dynamics is often inadequate as large datasets with multiple generations remain very uncommon. We posit that genealogical records can offer a valuable alternative. Rather than exploring the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status, we rely on birth and death dates of eighteenth and nineteenth century settlers in South Africa’s Cape Colony to estimate the intergenerational transmission of longevity. We find that there is a positive and significant association between parents’ and offspring’s life duration, as well as between siblings. Although these correlations persist over time, the coefficients are relatively small. While the effect of grandparents’ longevity on that of grandchildren is insignificant, the cousin correlations suggest that inequality in longevity might persist across more than two generations. We suggest that family and environmental factors shared by cousins, beyond grandparental longevity, can explain these results.
dc.descriptionJEL Classification: J62, N37
dc.identifier978-1-920517-54-0
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/11090/671
dc.identifier.ris TY - Working Paper DA - 2015-05-28 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Intergenerational mobility KW - Longevity LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape Colony TI - The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape Colony UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11090/671 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11090/671
dc.languageen
dc.publisherSouthern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit
dc.publisher.departmentSALDRUen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.relationSALDRU Working Papers;113
dc.subjectIntergenerational mobility
dc.subjectLongevity
dc.titleThe transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape Colony
dc.typeWorking Paper
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceWorking Paperen_ZA
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