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Cited by 273

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Primogeniture, Equal Sharing, and the U.S. Distribution of Wealth

Menchik, Paul L.·1980·The Quarterly Journal of Economics
DOI 10.2307/1884542
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Abstract

Bequest patterns to children are important in intergenerational models of the distribution of income and wealth. Economies that feature primogeniture will have a greater degree of inequality than those featuring equal division. This paper presents evidence on estate division among children by sex, birth order, family size, estate size, and asset composition. The results presented here are preference-generated not tax-induced due to the tax characteristics within the sampling region. It is shown that equal sharing among children is the rule, a result that casts doubt upon the “altruist” model of inheritance as advanced by Becker and Tomes.

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Metadata

Authors
Menchik, P. L.
Venue
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
1980-03
Volume
94
Issue
2
Pages
299
ISSN
0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2307/1884542
OpenAlex
W1984248111
Cited by
273
References
0
FWCI
14.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Primogeniture, Equal Sharing, and the U.S. Distribution of Wealth. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.2307/1884542
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Menchik, P. L. (1980). Primogeniture, Equal Sharing, and the U.S. Distribution of Wealth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. https://doi.org/10.2307/1884542

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