The Output Cost of Inheritance

We study how inheritance affects labor supply over the life cycle, and we quantify its aggregate impact. Tracking earnings histories around some 135,000 inheritances and 5,000 lottery wins, we exploit the quasi-random timing and size of these events to identify labor supply responses with high precision. Earnings responses are negative at all ages but peak between ages 55 and 64, largely due to early retirement. Inheritances generate smaller impact responses than comparable lottery wins, consistent with anticipation effects. Our estimates match the predictions of a life-cycle model with endogenous labor supply and early retirement. Aggregating model-based responses across the population, our point estimate of the GDP cost of inheritance is 1.7%. The timing, size, and anticipation of inheritance all contribute to shaping its macroeconomic consequences.