More than we might like to believe. Ryan Avent reads a study:
The truly amazing thing to me is that parental income isn't just crucial in getting to college, and getting through college -- its effects linger on, basically, in perpetuity. One of the most remarkable findings from the Pew Charitable Trusts' Economic Mobility Project is that a child from a family in the top income quintile who does not get a college degree is more likely to wind up in the top income quintile himself than a child from a family in the bottom income quintile who does get a college degree...
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/04/how-much-does-class-matter-in-america/202664/
