Like Godfather, Like Son

Abstract

Sons (daughters) with criminal fathers have 2.06 (2.66) times higher odds of having a criminal conviction than those with noncriminal fathers. One additional paternal sentence increases sons’ (daughters’) convictions by 32 (53) percent. Compared to traditional labor market measures, the intergenerational transmission of crime is lower than that for high school completion but higher than that for poverty. At the intensive margin, the intergenerational crime relationship is as strong as those for earnings and years of schooling. Parental human capital and parental behaviors can account for 60–80 percent of the intergenerational crime relationship. Paternal role-modeling also matters.