Does Parental Quality Matter? Evidence on the Transmission of Human Capital Using Variation in Parental Influence from Death, Divorce, and Family Size

Eric Gould, Avi Simhon and Bruce Weinberg

No 25495, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper examines the transmission of human capital from parents to children using variation in parental influence due to parental death, divorce, and the increasing specialization of parental roles in larger families. All three sources of variation yield strikingly similar patterns which show that the strong parent-child correlation in human capital is largely causal. In each case, the parent-child correlation in education is stronger with the parent that spends more time with the child, and weaker with the parent that spends relatively less time parenting. These findings help us understand why educated parents spend more time with their children.

JEL-codes: I21 J13 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published as Eric D. Gould & Avi Simhon & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2020. "Does Parental Quality Matter? Evidence on the Transmission of Human Capital Using Variation in Parental Influence from Death, Divorce, and Family Size," Journal of Labor Economics, vol 38(2), pages 569-610.

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