Maternal Genetic Risk for Depression and Child Human Capital

Giorgia Menta, Anthony Lepinteur, Andrew Clark, Simone Ghislandi () and Conchita D'Ambrosio
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Simone Ghislandi: Bocconi University

No 15798, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We here address the causal relationship between the maternal genetic risk for depression and child human capital using UK birth-cohort data. We find that an increase of one standard deviation (SD) in the maternal polygenic risk score for depression reduces their children's cognitive and non-cognitive skill scores by 5 to 7% of a SD throughout adolescence. Our results are robust to a battery of sensitivity tests addressing, among others, concerns about pleiotropy and dynastic effects. Our Gelbach decomposition analysis suggests that the strongest mediator is genetic nurture (through maternal depression itself), with genetic inheritance playing only a marginal role.

Keywords: maternal depression; human capital; ALSPAC (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2022-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ltv and nep-neu
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Published - published in: Journal of Health Economics, 2023, 87, 102718

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Related works:
Journal Article: Maternal genetic risk for depression and child human capital (2023)
Working Paper: Maternal genetic risk for depression and child human capital (2023)
Working Paper: Maternal genetic risk for depression and child human capital (2023)
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