Construct · 2 fields · 5 citations

Where does heritability collide?

One name. Different field. Different construct. One map.

● jingle · one word, two constructs Nearest construct by meaningvariancecompare the meanings
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heritability2 CONSTRUCTSHeritability (h²)FISHER · VARIANCE RATIOIncome heritabilityBECKER-TOMES · INCOME

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1918Heritability (h²)1979Income heritability
2026

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Quantitative genetics

Share of trait variation attributable to genetic variation

In quantitative genetics, heritability is the proportion of the variation in a trait across a population that is statistically attributable to genetic variation among individuals. Fisher's 1918 The correlation between relatives on the supposition of Mendelian inheritance founded the partition of trait variation into genetic and environmental parts, Lush's 1940 work on estimating heritability of characteristics gave the measure its name and its use in breeding, and Visscher and colleagues' 2008 review restated what it does and does not mean. The quantity is a ratio, often written h², describing a population in a setting rather than a fixed property of any one individual. It contrasts with the legal meaning of heritable property, which classifies a thing rather than measuring variation, and with the economic meaning, which tracks how income persists across generations without isolating a genetic cause.[1][2][3]

Unit
A proportion between 0 and 1, the share of phenotypic variance from genetic variance
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Estimated from resemblance among relatives, twin and family designs, or genomic data

Economics

Persistence of income or status across generations

In economics, the heritability of income or status is the degree to which a child's economic position resembles that of the parents, a persistence traced across generations. Becker and Tomes's 1979 An equilibrium theory of the distribution of income and intergenerational mobility built the founding model of how earnings and wealth carry from parents to children, and Bowles and Gintis's 2002 The inheritance of inequality estimated that transmission and set the genetic contribution apart from the many non-genetic routes such as wealth, schooling, and connections. The construct is a coefficient of persistence, typically a regression or correlation of child on parent income, and it makes no claim about mechanism. It differs from the genetic meaning, which isolates the genetic share of trait variation, and from the legal meaning, which classifies property as heritable or moveable.[4][5]

Unit
A persistence coefficient, the regression or correlation of child income on parent income
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Estimated as the intergenerational elasticity or correlation of income or earnings

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Nearby collisions

variance4 fields · 6 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsinheritance3 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, three constructsproperty4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Fisher, R. A. (1918). The correlation between relatives on the supposition of Mendelian inheritance. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 52, 399–433. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0080456800012163
  2. Lush, J. L. (1940). Intra-sire correlations or regressions of offspring on dam as a method of estimating heritability of characteristics. Proceedings of the American Society of Animal Production, 33, 293–301. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas1940.19401293x
  3. Visscher, P. M., Hill, W. G., & Wray, N. R. (2008). Heritability in the genomics era: Concepts and misconceptions. Nature Reviews Genetics, 9(4), 255–266. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2322
  4. Becker, G. S., & Tomes, N. (1979). An equilibrium theory of the distribution of income and intergenerational mobility. Journal of Political Economy, 87(6), 1153–1189. https://doi.org/10.1086/260831
  5. Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (2002). The inheritance of inequality. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16(3), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1257/089533002760278686

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