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A meta-regression analysis on intergenerational transmission of education: publication bias and genuine empirical effect

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  • Nicolas Fleury

    (Centre Etudes & Prospective - Groupe ALPHA, EQUIPPE - Economie Quantitative, Intégration, Politiques Publiques et Econométrie - Université de Lille, Sciences et Technologies - Université de Lille, Sciences Humaines et Sociales - PRES Université Lille Nord de France - Université de Lille, Droit et Santé)

  • Fabrice Gilles

    (EQUIPPE - Economie Quantitative, Intégration, Politiques Publiques et Econométrie - Université de Lille, Sciences et Technologies - Université de Lille, Sciences Humaines et Sociales - PRES Université Lille Nord de France - Université de Lille, Droit et Santé, TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

In this article, we evaluate to what extent parental education impacts the education of their children by using a meta-regression analysis. Since the mi-1970s, there is a large and growing literature that deals with the causal impact on parental education on children's education. Those studies exhibit a large range of values for the education transmission coefficient. We consider an alternative way to estimate a true effect of parent education, discussing the existing empirical literature by using a meta-regression analysis. Our database is composed of a large set of both published and unpublished papers written over the last 40 years (1974-2014). This database allows us to econometrically evaluate an effect of parents education on their children, irrespective of articles heterogeneity (data sources, included explanatory variables, econometric strategy, type of publication), and of publication bias. We find evidence for both a publication bias and a large transmission coefficient of education.

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  • Nicolas Fleury & Fabrice Gilles, 2015. "A meta-regression analysis on intergenerational transmission of education: publication bias and genuine empirical effect," Working Papers halshs-01143490, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01143490
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    2. John P. A. Ioannidis & T. D. Stanley & Hristos Doucouliagos, 2017. "The Power of Bias in Economics Research," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 236-265, October.
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    4. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Zeynalova, Olesia, 2017. "Tuition Reduces Enrollment Less Than Commonly Thought," MPRA Paper 78813, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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