David Hugh-Jones (University of East Anglia) 19.10.2023

It is our pleasure that Prof. David Hugh-Jones (University of East Anglia) will present on Thursday, October 19, 2023, at 12:45 in room RB437 about his research on the topic “Trading Social Status for Genetics in Marriage Markets: Evidence from UK Biobank”.

Registration is not required and anyone who would like to attend is warmly invited.

ABSTRACT: Under social-genetic assortative mating (SGAM), socio-economic status (SES) and genetically inherited traits are both assets in marriage markets, become associated in spouse pairs, and are passed together to future generations. This gives a new explanation for persistent intergenerational inequality and observed genetic differences between rich and poor. We model SGAM and test for it in large surveys in two countries. Spouses of earlier-born siblings have genetics predicting more education. This effect is mediated by individuals’ own education and income. Thus, shocks to SES are reflected in the DNA of subsequent generations. Under SGAM, genetic variation is endogenous to economic institutions.

BIO:  David Hugh-Jones is a social scientist with interests in culture and genetics. He has worked at the Universities of Essex, Warwick and East Anglia. His most recent work has examined natural selection in contemporary populations.