A genome‑wide study of 668,288 Europeans found 162 loci tied to a common 'Income Factor' and built a polygenic score that predicts only 1–5% of income differences. The work suggests a real but small genetic component and highlights potential genetic confounding in the link between income and health.
— It calibrates claims about heredity and inequality, guiding how media, policymakers, and researchers interpret SES–health causality and the limits of genetic prediction for social outcomes.
2025.01.28
100% relevant
The paper’s polygenic index capturing 1–5% of income variance and the identification of 162 income‑associated loci.
2019.05.14
75% relevant
This twin‑study result (Finnish twins, 20 years of earnings) reports much larger heritability for lifetime earnings than the small share typically recovered by polygenic‑score (PGS) studies; it therefore directly engages and complicates the existing idea by highlighting the gap between twin‑based heritability estimates and PGS‑based explained variance (measurement, methodology, and indirect genetic effects are plausible reasons).
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