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Formation of Children’s Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills: Is All Parental Time Equal?

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Abstract

Although it is recognized that parental time is a strong determinant of child development, little is known about heterogeneity across the effects of parental time. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children, I model the cognitive and socio-emotional skills production functions for children born in 1999-2000, from 4 to 11 years old, using, among others, a cumulative value-added and a generalized method of moments model. I find that the effect on children's verbal and socioemotional skills of time spent on educational activities with the father is smaller than that with the mother or both parents together. For socio-emotional skills, this difference seems to be driven by fathers who spend little time with their children.

Suggested Citation

  • Hélène Le Forner, 2021. "Formation of Children’s Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills: Is All Parental Time Equal?," AMSE Working Papers 2117, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
  • Handle: RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2117
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    child development; cognitive skills; socio-emotional skills; parental time investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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