Educational, Labor-Market and Intergenerational Consequences of Poor Childhood Health

Krzysztof Karbownik and Anthony Wray

No 14127, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Does childhood health capital affect long-run labor market success? We address this question using inpatient hospital admission records linked to population census records. Sibling fixed effects estimates indicate that in comparison to their brothers, boys with health deficiencies were more likely to experience downward occupational mobility relative to their father's occupational rank. This decline in occupational success across generations can be decomposed into a lower likelihood of attaining white collar status and a higher likelihood of working in unskilled jobs, which translated into lower occupational wages on average. Evidence indicates that a lower school attendance rate and higher rates of disability in both childhood and adulthood are plausible mechanisms for our findings.

Keywords: intergenerational inequality; childhood health capital; occupational success (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 J62 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 105 pages
Date: 2021-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Forthcoming - forthcoming in: Journal of Human Resources

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Working Paper: Educational, Labor-market and Intergenerational Consequences of Poor Childhood Health (2019)
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