Human Capital Development and Parental Investment in India

Orazio Attanasio, Costas Meghir and Emily Nix

The Review of Economic Studies, 2020, vol. 87, issue 6, 2511-2541

Abstract: We estimate production functions for cognition and health for children aged 1–12 in India, based on the Young Lives Survey. India has over 70 million children aged 0–5 who are at risk of developmental deficits. The inputs into the production functions include parental background, prior child cognition and health, and child investments, which are taken as endogenous. Estimation is based on a nonlinear factor model, based on multiple measurements for both inputs and child outcomes. Our results show an important effect of early health on child cognitive development, which then becomes persistent. Parental investments affect cognitive development at all ages, but more so for younger children. Investments also have an impact on health at early ages only.

Keywords: Child development; Human capital; Poverty; Inequality; Equal opportunity; Cognitive skills; Health; Human capital production functions; Nonlinear factor models; Measurement error; Development; I14; I15; I25; I32; J13; J24; O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (56)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:restud:v:87:y:2020:i:6:p:2511-2541.

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