There is no direct evidence that these patterns also characterize the American
labor market, though Datcher Loury (2006) suggests that in the United
States up to half of jobs are found through family, friends or acquaintances.
She also shows that the highest wages are paid to those who find jobs through
“prior generation male” relatives who actually knew the potential employer or
served as a reference. While this information does not appear to be available
across the US earnings distribution, the literature on the succession of chief executive
officers in family firms hints at the possibility that the incidence could
be higher at the very top. Pérez-González (2006) examines just over 300 CEO
transitions and finds that in more than one-third, the new CEO had a family
connection. In addition, these transitions were associated with a decline
in firm performance, particularly so when the newly appointed family member
did not attend a select college. Bennedsen, Meisner Nielson, Pérez-González
and Wolfenzon (2007) offer a similar, but more detailed analysis with Danish
data, and using instrumental variables, more firmly document a causal impact
of family succession on declining performance.