The Chinese have a saying: 富不过三代 - one’s wealth cannot last for more than three generations. From the Arabian Nights to the Bible, stories abound of the prodigal son who plunders away his inheritance. The basic lesson is that rich kids aren’t very good at keeping the wealth bestowed upon them by their parents.

Economists, being economists, are unable to resist giving it a fancy name: the intergenerational transmission of income.

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It never ceases to amaze me how some videos are able to induce strong waves of emotion in the short span of less than 5 minutes, while some movies are unable to even after 2 hours of trying.

This video set me thinking about the future of children in the vastly different society that we live in today, compared to say, my parents’ time in the 70s’. The changing economics of marriage has been analysed and debated over by economists like Tim Harford (The Logic of Life) and intellectuals at Cato Unbound, but most of the analysis has been focused on Mom and Dad - what about their children?
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