Who Gets Ahead? The Determinants of Economic Success in America

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Contributors: Susan Bartlett, Mary Corcoran, James Crouse, David Eaglesfield, Gregory Jackson, Kent McClelland, Peter Mueser, Michael Olneck, Joseph Schwartz, Sherry Ward, Jill Williams To what extent does a man's economic success depend on his family background, his academic ability, his personality traits, or his schooling? Drawing on 11 surveys conducted over more than a decade, Christopher Jencks and his colleagues provide the most comprehensive analysis of this question ever attempted. This is the book that answers the questions first raised in Jencks's immensely influential and controversial 1972 book on the impact of educational opportunity, _Inequality_, which was widely hailed as the most important book on the subject. _Who Gets Ahead?_ demolishes virtually all the simple, one factor explanations of economic success that have been popular over the years. At the same time it shows that by taking enough factors into account - personality characteristics, family background, teachers' judgements about leadership ability, and, most importantly, length of schooling - much of the enormous complexity of individual careers can ultimately be explained. Christopher Jencks and his colleagues have produced a major work which is indispensable for anyone attempting to understand or formulate economic or social policy today. A revised version of "The effects of family background, test scores, personality traits, and schooling on economic success" by C. Jencks and L. Rainwater published by the National Technical Information Service, 1977. 0. LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES: vi 0. PREFACE: xi 1. Introduction: 3 2. Methods: 17 3. The Effects of Family Background: 50 4. The Effects of Academic Ability: 85 5. The Effects of Noncognitive Traits: 122 6. The Effects of Education: 159 7. The Effects of Race on Earnings: 191 8. Who Gets Ahead: A Summary: 213 9. Individual Earnings and Family Income: 231 10. Do Different Surveys Yield Similar Results? 251 11. The Effects of Research Style: 271 12. Who Gets Ahead? and Inequality: A Comparison: 290 13. APPENDIX OF SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES: 312 14. NOTES: 365 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY: 379 16. INDEX: 389