Do Smart Parents Raise Smart Children? The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Abilities

Silke Anger and Guido Heineck

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2010, vol. 23, 1105-1132

Abstract: Complementing prior research on income and educational mobility, we examine the intergenerational transmission of cognitive abilities. We find that individuals’ cognitive skills are positively related to their parents’ abilities, despite controlling for educational attainment and family background. Differentiating between mothers’ and fathers’ IQ transmission, we find different effects on the cognition of sons and daughters. Cognitive skills that are based on past learning are more strongly transmitted between generations than skills that are related to innate abilities. Our findings are not compatible with a pure genetic model but rather point to the importance of parental investments for children’s cognitive outcomes.

Keywords: Cognitive abilities; Intergenerational IQ transmission; Skill formation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 J10 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (106)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Do smart parents raise smart children? The intergenerational transmission of cognitive abilities (2010)
Working Paper: Do Smart Parents Raise Smart Children?: The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Abilities (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:68594

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