5of19 - Human Capital, and Intergenerational Mobility - Inheritance of ability

GARY BECKER This the fifth lecture in the “Lectures on Human Capital“ series by Gary Becker. This series of lectures recorded during the Spring of 2010 are from ECON 343 - Human Capital, a class taught every year by Gary Becker at the University of Chicago. In this class, Becker expounds upon the theory of Human Capital that he helped create and for which he won the Nobel Prize. Please see attached lecture notes, video annotations, and reading list for more information. --- Professor Becker explains and illustrates the differences between cognitive and non- cognitive abilities. Subsequently, he introduces ability in the model that was developed in the last lectures. He explains what happens to the choice variables of the model when ability increases. Then, he develops a model of intergenerational transmission of ability that allows for children to inherit ability from their parents. He links this transmission process to intergenerational income mobility. Also, he explain