Replication Code for: Does Opportunity Skip Generations? Reassessing Evidence from Sibling and Cousin Correlations

Sibling and cousin correlations are empirically straightforward: they capture the degree to which siblings' or cousins' outcomes are similar. The meaning of these quantities, however, is complicated. A multitude of theoretical processes can produce any particular set of sibling and cousin correlations. Using multigenerational mobility as a substantive example, I show that sibling and cousin correlations in published research are equally consistent with several theoretical interpretations. While some prior authors have concluded that opportunity must skip parents to directly link the outcomes of grandparents and offspring, I show that this evidence is often consistent with alternative theories of latent transmission (measurement error) or of dynamic transmission (a parent-to-child transmission process that changes over generations). I clarify that point estimates which seem to contradict a given theory may also arise from estimation error. I develop a Bayesian procedure to estimate sibling and cousin correlations and quantify uncertainty about the statistic central to the argument. I conclude by outlining how future research might use sibling and cousin correlations as effective descriptive quantities while remaining cognizant that these quantities could arise from a variety of distinct theoretical processes.