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Paternal unemployment during childhood: causal effects on youth worklessness and educational attainment

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  • Steffen Mueller
  • Regina T. Riphahn
  • Caroline Schwientek

Abstract

Using long-running data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-2012) we investigate the impact of paternal unemployment on child labor market and education outcomes. We first describe correlation patterns and then use sibling fixed effects and the Gottschalk (1996) method to identify the causal effects of paternal unemployment. We find different patterns for sons and daughters. Paternal unemployment does not seem to causally affect the outcomes of sons. In contrast, it increases both daughters' worklessness and educational attainment. We test the robustness of the results and explore potential explanations.

Suggested Citation

  • Steffen Mueller & Regina T. Riphahn & Caroline Schwientek, 2014. "Paternal unemployment during childhood: causal effects on youth worklessness and educational attainment," Working Papers 157, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    • Handle: RePEc:bav:wpaper:157_muellerriphahnschwientek
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    3. Alena Bicakova & Klara Kaliskova, 2022. "Is Longer Maternal Care Always Beneficial? The Impact of a Four-year Paid Parental Leave," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp732, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    4. Grübl, Dominik & Lackner, Mario & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, 2020. "Intergenerational Transmission of Unemployment - Causal Evidence from Austria," IHS Working Paper Series 14, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    5. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "Parental unemployment, social insurance and child well-being across countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 600-617.
    6. Kristina Lindemann & Markus Gangl, 2018. "Parental Unemployment and the Transition into Tertiary Education: Can Institutions Moderate the Adverse Effects?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 972, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    7. Daniel Gladwell & Gurleen Popli & Aki Tsuchiya, 2022. "Predictors of becoming not in education, employment or training: A dynamic comparison of the direct and indirect determinants," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(S2), pages 485-514, December.
    8. Jennifer Feichtmayer & Regina T. Riphahn, 2023. "Intergenerational Transmission of Welfare Benefit Receipt: Evidence from Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1201, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    youth unemployment; educational attainment; intergenerational mobility; causal effect; Gottschalk method; sibling fixed effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation

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