EFFICIENCY, RECIPROCITY, AND ASCRIPTIVE EQUALITY - THE 3 MAJOR STRATEGIES GOVERNING THE SELECTION OF HEIRS IN AMERICA

Objective. Both the growing number of U.S. testators and the increased amount of money involved in their intergenerational transfers make it necessary to identify their motivations. Indeed, existing patterns of social stratification both within and across familial groups should b e affected. Methods. The analysis is based on secondary analyses of ex isting but scattered data. Results. Three motivations (pursuit of effi ciency, commitment to reciprocity, and search for ascriptive equality) and their social determinants are identified. A research agenda is pr oposed to assess their distributions in the U.S. population at large a s well as to evaluate their implications on existing patterns of inequ ality. Conclusions. The completion of the agenda would help understand better the dynamics governing the interaction between economic and cu ltural capital.