The Carnegie Conjecture: Some Empirical Evidence

Author
Keywords
Abstract

This paper examines tax return-generated data on the labor force behavior of people
before and after they receive inheritances. The results are consistent with Andrew Camegie’s
century-old assertion that large inheritances decrease a person's labor force participation. For
example, a single person who receives an inheritance of about $150,000 is roughly four times
more likely to leave the labor force than a person with an inheritance below $25,000.
Additional, albeit weaker, evidence suggests that large inheritances depress labor supply, even
when participation is unaltered.

Year of Publication
1992
Number
302
Date Published
03/1992
Publication Language
eng
Citation Key
The Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 1993
URL
Working Papers