This dissertation comprises three chapters exploring the impacts of initial conditions, such as parental background or environmental factors in childhood, on lifetime economic outcomes. Such initial conditions are often unrelated to individual effort or ability. Yet, they profoundly shape access to opportunities, raising fundamental questions about fairness and efficiency.

Why do differences in parental background translate so persistently into disparities in lifetime outcomes? How do these early circumstances position one child for success while creating major obstacles for another? Addressing these questions is key to critical discussion and effective design of policies aimed at promoting individual well-being and social progress. Ultimately, this thesis is driven by curiosity about the roots of economic inequality and enthusiasm for the role scientific evidence plays in improving our societies.

The first chapter explores how segregation in school-based social networks mirrors parental income disparities, reinforcing the intergenerational transmission of economic inequality. The second chapter investigates the long-term effects of early-life credit access, demonstrating that disparities in borrowing capacity persist over time and are strongly associated with parents’ access to credit. The third chapter examines how early-life credit constraints substantially limit access to financial resources later in life.