Working Paper: NBER ID: w13987
Authors: Janet Currie
Abstract: There are many possible pathways between parental education, income, and health, and between child health and education, but only some of them have been explored in the literature. This essay focuses on links between parental socioeconomic status (as measured by education, income, occupation, or in some cases area of residence) and child health, and between child health and adult education or income. Specifically, I ask two questions: What is the evidence regarding whether parental socioeconomic status affects child health? And, what is the evidence relating child health to future educational and labor market outcomes? I show that there is now strong evidence of both links, suggesting that health could play a role in the intergenerational transmission of economic status.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I12; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Parental socioeconomic status (SES) (I24) | Child health (I19) |
| Child health (I19) | Future educational outcomes (I21) |
| Child health (I19) | Future labor market outcomes (J29) |
| Parental socioeconomic status (SES) (I24) | Future educational outcomes (I21) |
| Parental socioeconomic status (SES) (I24) | Future labor market outcomes (J29) |
| Child health (I19) | Health capital (I15) |