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Does family structure affect children's educational outcomes?

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Author Info
Donna K. Ginther
Robert A. Pollak

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Abstract

In this paper we examine the effect of family structure on children’s educational outcomes by exploiting the sibling structure in the NLSY and NLSY-Child to control for unobserved heterogeneity across families and individuals. We also compare outcomes for children within the same family—stepchildren with their half-siblings in the same blended family who are the biological children of both parents. Using panel data methods to control for unobserved heterogeneity across families, we find that family structure effects are statistically insignificant. Finally, comparing half-siblings in our data, we find no difference in educational outcomes as a function of family structure. Our empirical results are consistent with at least two interpretations. First, they can be interpreted as evidence that estimates of family structure effects reflect selection rather than causation. Second, they can be interpreted as evidence that the presence of stepchildren disrupts families.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in its series Working Paper with number 2000-13.

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Date of creation: 2000
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:2000-13

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Keywords: Child care ; Demography ; Education ; Human capital;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
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  5. Gary Painter & David Levine, 1999. "Family Structure and Youths' Outcomes: Which Correlations are Causal?," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series 1001, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley. [Downloadable!]
  6. John F. Ermisch & Marco Francesconi, 2001. "Family structure and children's achievements," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 249-270. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Angrist, Joshua D, 1990. "Lifetime Earnings and the Vietnam Era Draft Lottery: Evidence from Social Security Administrative Records," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 313-36, June.
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  8. Manski, C.F. & Sandefur, G.D. & Mclanahan, S. & Powers, D., 1990. "Alternative Estimates Of The Effect Of Family Stucture During Adolescence On Hight School Graduation," Working papers 90-31, Wisconsin Madison - Social Systems.
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  12. Robert Haveman & Barbara Wolfe, 1995. "The Determinants of Children's Attainments: A Review of Methods and Findings," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1829-1878, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. repec:att:wimass:199217 is not listed on IDEAS
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  15. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard & Eric Helland, 2001. "Does Single Parenthood Increase the Probability of Teenage Promiscuity, Drug Use, and Crime? Evidence from Divorce Law Changes," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series 8-02, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara. [Downloadable!]
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  16. Jonathan Gruber, 2000. "Is Making Divorce Easier Bad for Children? The Long Run Implications of Unilateral Divorce," NBER Working Papers 7968, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Robert J. Willis, 1999. "A Theory of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages S33-S64, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Behrman, Jere R & Rosenzweig, Mark R & Taubman, Paul, 1994. "Endowments and the Allocation of Schooling in the Family and in the Marriage Market: The Twins Experiment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1131-74, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  23. Geronimus, Arline T & Korenman, Sanders, 1992. "The Socioeconomic Consequences of Teen Childbearing Reconsidered," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(4), pages 1187-214, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. James J. Heckman & Lance Lochner & Christopher Taber, 1998. "General Equilibrium Treatment Effects: A Study of Tuition Policy," NBER Working Papers 6426, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  25. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard, 2002. "Does Single Parenthood Increase the Probability of Teenage Promiscuity, Drug Use and Crime?," Claremont Colleges Working Papers 2002-23, Claremont Colleges. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Amelie Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2004. "Occupational Choice across Generations," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 395, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Philippe Mahler & Rainer Winkelmann, 2004. "Secondary School Track Selection of Single-Parent Children – Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel," Working Papers 0415, University of Zurich, Socioeconomic Institute, revised Oct 2005. [Downloadable!]
  3. Björklund, Anders & Sundström, Marianne, 2002. "Parental Separation and Children’s Educational Attainment: A Siblings Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 643, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Björklund,Anders & Ginther, Donna K. & Sundström, Marianne, 2004. "Family Structure and Child Outcomes in the United States and Sweden," IZA Discussion Papers 1259, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  5. Richard Akresh, 2004. "Adjusting Household Structure: School Enrollment Impacts of Child Fostering in Burkina Faso," Working Papers 897, Economic Growth Center, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Winkelmann, Rainer, 2003. "Parental Separation and Well-Being of Youths," IZA Discussion Papers 894, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. John Ermisch, 2003. "How Do Parents Affect the Life Chances of Their Children as Adults? An Idiosyncratic Review," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 101, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
  8. Philippe Mahler & Rainer Winkelmann, 2005. "Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal EducationalOpportunities: Evidence for Germany," Working Papers 0512, University of Zurich, Socioeconomic Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Björklund, Anders & Sundström, Marianne, 2004. "Parental Separation and Children's Educational Attainment: A Siblings Analysis on Swedish Register Data," Working Paper Series 4/2004, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Eirik Evenhouse & Siobhan Reilly, 1999. "Is the Wicked Stepmother Just a Fairytale?," Working Papers 0049, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University, revised Nov 2000. [Downloadable!]
  11. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard, 2002. "Does Single Parenthood Increase the Probability of Teenage Promiscuity, Drug Use and Crime?," Claremont Colleges Working Papers 2002-23, Claremont Colleges. [Downloadable!]
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