> The authors examine a number of empirical studies for different countries. Regression to the mean in earnings in rich countries appears to be rapid. Almost al

> The authors examine a number of empirical studies for different countries. Regression to the mean in earnings in rich countries appears to be rapid. Almost all the earnings advantages or disadvantages of ancestors are wiped out in three generations. That's deeply at odds with what I know about the world (think about the existence of the "middle class", and how middle class parents tend to have middle class children). That, and the fact that the article was written by Gary Becker (he of "all crime is a rational cost / benefit tradeoff" fame), and published at a time when economists did very little emperical work, make me more or less immediately dismiss the claim. But if anyone could give me the gist of the argument they make, I'd love to be proven wrong.