Shaping Inequality and Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty
Professor Dirk Krueger public lecture.
Hosted by The Australian National University Research School of Economics.
In this lecture, Professor Dirk Krueger (University of Pennsylvania) will discuss his paper, which constructs a general equilibrium overlapping generations model with intergenerational linkages and a multi-stage human-capital production process during childhood and adolescence, with both parental time and resource investments as well as government schooling inputs investments. The model features rich cross-sectional heterogeneity, and specifically distinguishes between single and married parents, and is disciplined by US household survey data on income, wealth, education, and time use.
The purpose of the model is to study alternative government education policies to encourage college attendance and completion, such as making college free, improving funding for primary and secondary public schooling, and strengthening social-insurance policies for children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. More broadly, Dirk will investigate which policies efficiently improve outcomes of socially-disadvantaged children, increase upward intergenerational mobility, and improve aggregate welfare.