Future Members of Congress are economic outliers — They tend to have higher education and wealth levels compared to their peers.
Their brothers share some advantages — Approximately half of an MC's socioeconomic premium is also observed in his brother.
Filded of eye - The widening family background gap over the last century suggests ongoing challenges for political equality.
We trace the family origins of Members of Congress (MC) born between 1830 and 1950, linking each MC, their parents, and their brothers to the complete-count censuses. Future MCs have always been economic outliers.
