Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP1591
Authors: John F. Ermisch; Marco Francesconi
Abstract: The analysis uses a unique set of data matching mothers and their young adult children to study the impact of family background on young people?s educational attainments. The data is derived from the first five years (1991?5) of the British Household Panel Study. Mother?s education is found to be a very powerful predictor of their children?s educational attainments, particularly for young women. Having spent some time in a single-parent family tends to reduce the educational attainments of young men moderately, but the effects on young women?s education are small. Part, if not all, of this negative effect of living in a single-parent family reflects fewer economic resources in such families.
Keywords: intergenerational processes; family structure; education; human capital
JEL Codes: J12; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Mothers' education (I24) | Children's educational attainment (I21) |
| Single-parent family (J12) | Educational attainment of young men (I21) |
| Economic resources (Q32) | Educational attainment (I21) |
| Mother in managerial position (M54) | Educational attainment of young men (I21) |