Conley

1
Conleys Pecking OrderInequality Starts at Home

• In explaining economic inequality in America,
  sibling differences represent about ¾ of all
  differences between individuals.
• Put another way, only one-quarter of all income
  inequality is between families. The remaining 75
  is within families.

2
Conleys Pecking OrderThe Central Question

• Why is there a pecking order among American
  families and how does it work?
• What explains intra-familial differences in
  income and attainment?

3
Conleys Pecking OrderPossible Explanations

• ?Genetics
• ?Gender-specific birth order
• ?Parenting

4
The Pecking OrderConleys Explanation

• Family size is what matters because parental
  time, attention, and money are fixed pies and
  each claim on a slice means less for someone
  else.
• Birth order matters, but not by shaping
  personalities which in turn shape socio-economic
  outcomes rather it mediates family trauma.

5
The Pecking OrderContribution

• Challenges the perceived split between
  individual, personality-based explanations of
  sibling differences and sociological ones.
• Pecking order or status hierarchy emerges from
  the interaction between individual-level and
  structural factors.

6
The Pecking OrderImplications

• What do sibling disparities indicate? According
  to Conley, class identity is ever changing and
  not necessarily shared between siblings.
• Family is not a haven in a heartless capitalist
  world or a shelter from its winds, but a part of
  them.

7
Conleys Pecking OrderThe Central Question

• Why is there a pecking order among American
  families and how does it work?
• What explains intra-familial differences in
  income and attainment?

8
The Pecking OrderData

• U.S. Census
• Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)
• General Social Survey (GSS)
• NYU In-depth Interviews