The Promises and Pitfalls of Genoeconomics

Benjamin, Daniel J.; Cesarini, David; Chabris, Christopher F.; Glaeser, Edward L.; Laibson, David; Harris, Tamara B.; Launer, Lenore J.; Purcell, Shaun; Smith, Albert V.; Registry, Swedish Twin; Johannesson, Magnus; Beauchamp, Jonathan P.; Christakis, Nicholas A.; Atwood, Craig S.; Hébert, Benjamin; Freese, Jeremy; Hauser, Robert M.; Hauser, Taissa S.; Grankvist, Alexander; Hultman, Christina M.; Lichtenstein, Paul

doi:10.1146/annurev-economics-080511-110939

Cited by 188 publications

(228 citation statements)

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“…Researchers studying gene-by-environment (G E) interactions must wrestle with a number of conceptual and de…nitional questions (Benjamin et al 2012b;Chow and Lee 2012) and empirical challenges (Conley 2009). In molecular genetic work, a major challenge is that most genetic e¤ects on complex outcomes, including political variables, are likely to be of tiny magnitude (Benjamin et al 2012a, b).…”

Section: B the Interaction Of Pre-birth And Post-birth Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-Birth Factors, Post-Birth Factors, and Voting: Evidence from Swedish Adoption Data

2014

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This paper analyzes a rich Swedish data set with information on the electoral turnout of a large sample of adoptees, their siblings, their adoptive parents, and their biological parents. We use a simple regression framework to decompose the parent-child resemblance in voting into pre-birth factors, measured by biological parents' voting, and post-birth factors, measured by adoptive parents'voting. Adoptees are more likely to vote if their biological parents were voters and if they were assigned to families in which the adoptive parents vote. We …nd evidence of interactions between the preand post-birth factors: the e¤ect of the post-birth environment on turnout is greater amongst adoptees whose biological mothers are non-voters. We also show that the relationships between parental characteristics, such as education, and child turnout persist even in the absence of a genetic link between parent and child. The regression-based framework we utilize provides a basis for the integration of behavior-genetic research into mainstream political science.

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Section: B the Interaction Of Pre-birth And Post-birth Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre-Birth Factors, Post-Birth Factors, and Voting: Evidence from Swedish Adoption Data

2014

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“…This enthusiasm is based on a number of potential contributions that such research could make to social science (1)(2)(3). For example, if specific genetic markers can be identified that are associated with a behavioral trait, then such predictive markers may shed light on the biological pathways underlying that trait (3,4).…”

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The genetic architecture of economic and political preferences

Benjamin

Cesarini

Loos

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Preferences are fundamental building blocks in all models of economic and political behavior. We study a new sample of comprehensively genotyped subjects with data on economic and political preferences and educational attainment. We use dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to estimate the proportion of variation in these traits explained by common SNPs and to conduct genome-wide association study (GWAS) and prediction analyses. The pattern of results is consistent with findings for other complex traits. First, the estimated fraction of phenotypic variation that could, in principle, be explained by dense SNP arrays is around one-half of the narrow heritability estimated using twin and family samples. The molecular-genetic-based heritability estimates, therefore, partially corroborate evidence of significant heritability from behavior genetic studies. Second, our analyses suggest that these traits have a polygenic architecture, with the heritable variation explained by many genes with small effects. Our results suggest that most published genetic association studies with economic and political traits are dramatically underpowered, which implies a high false discovery rate. These results convey a cautionary message for whether, how, and how soon molecular genetic data can contribute to, and potentially transform, research in social science. We propose some constructive responses to the inferential challenges posed by the small explanatory power of individual SNPs.genoeconomics | genopolitics | GCTA T here has been growing enthusiasm for the use of molecular genetic data in social science research. This enthusiasm is based on a number of potential contributions that such research could make to social science (1-3). For example, if specific genetic markers can be identified that are associated with a behavioral trait, then such predictive markers may shed light on the biological pathways underlying that trait (3, 4). If a set of genetic markers is sufficiently predictive, then these markers could be used in social science research as control variables, as instrumental variables (5, 6; for critical perspectives, see refs. 7, 8) or, under certain conditions, as factors for identifying at-risk individuals (1-3).The extent to which this potential of molecular genetic data will be fulfilled for a given trait hinges on the trait's "molecular genetic architecture," i.e., the joint distribution of effect sizes and allele frequencies of the causal genetic variants (9). The architecture-which is the result of evolutionary forces, including mutation, drift, and selection-determines the difficulty with which the genetic variants associated with a trait can be identified and what sample sizes will be required for gene discovery. It also determines the out-of-sample aggregate predictability that can be derived from a set of genetic markers considered jointly.Existing studies claiming to have established genetic associations with economic and political traits typically use samples of several hundred individuals, and no...

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“…Parents, for example, are likely to modify the environment in response to their children's genetic endowments. This implies that estimates from behavioral genetics models are difficult to interpret because they are essentially reduced-form estimates from a more general model in which environmental influences are endogenous with respect to genotype (see Beauchamp et al 2011, Benjamin et al 2012 for a discussion). Using such estimates for policy development requires a great deal of caution.…”

Section: Behavioral Geneticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Benjamin et al (2008) coined the phrase "genoeconomics" to refer to the use of molecular genetic information in economics. Two primary research strategies are being used to identify the link between genes and behavior: i) candidate gene studies in which an "educated guess" is used to select particular genes for analysis because of their known biological functions; and ii) genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in which researchers look for associations between the outcome of interest and millions of possible genetic variations across the human genome (see Benjamin et al 2012). …”

Section: Genoeconomicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Results have been remarkably difficult to replicate, leading some to suggest that many findings are spurious (Beauchamp et al 2011). Most studies are seriously underpowered because sample sizes are too small, and although much of the promise of geneconomics lies in uncovering the causal mechanisms behind biological processes, the evidence thus far is strictly correlational (Beauchamp et al 2011, Benjamin et al 2012, Chabris et al 2015. Moreover, research has not yet explicitly investigated whether heredity and genetic variation operates differently for men and women -and whether this is an important source of gender disparities.…”

Section: Genoeconomicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biology and Gender in the Labor Market

Cobb‐Clark

2017

The Oxford Handbook of Women and the Economy

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. Terms of use: Documents inIZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. Can biology help us to better understand gender differences in labor market behavior and outcomes? This chapter reviews the emerging literature which sheds light on this question, considering research in four broad areas: i) behavioral endocrinology; ii) human genetics; iii) neuroeconomics; and iv) sensory functioning and time-space perceptions.JEL Classification: J31, A12, Z0

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The Promises and Pitfalls of Genoeconomics

Cited by 188 publications

References 110 publications

Pre-Birth Factors, Post-Birth Factors, and Voting: Evidence from Swedish Adoption Data

Pre-Birth Factors, Post-Birth Factors, and Voting: Evidence from Swedish Adoption Data

The genetic architecture of economic and political preferences

Biology and Gender in the Labor Market

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