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Explaining the socio-economic gradient in child outcomes: the intergenerational transmission of cognitive skills

Author

Listed:
  • Claire Crawford

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University of Birmingham)

  • Alissa Goodman

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London)

  • Robert Joyce

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

Papers in this volume and elsewhere consistently find a strong relationship between children's cognitive abilities and their parents' socio-economic position (SEP). Most studies seeking to explain the paths through which SEP affects cognitive skills suffer from a potentially serious omitted variables problem, as they are unable to account for an important determinant of children's cognitive abilities, namely parental cognitive ability. A range of econometric strategies have been employed to overcome this issue, but in this paper, we adopt the very simple (but rarely available) route of using data that includes a range of typically unobserved characteristics, such as parental cognitive ability and social skills. In line with previous work on the intergenerational transmission of cognitive skills, we find that parental cognitive ability is a significant predictor of children's cognitive ability; moreover, it explains one sixth of the socio-economic gap in those skills, even after controlling for a rich set of demographic, attitudinal and behavioural factors. Despite the importance of parental cognitive ability in explaining children's cognitive ability, however, the addition of such typically unobserved characteristics does not alter our impression of the relative importance of other factors in explaining the socio-economic gap in cognitive skills. This is reassuring for studies that are unable to control for parental cognitive ability.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire Crawford & Alissa Goodman & Robert Joyce, 2010. "Explaining the socio-economic gradient in child outcomes: the intergenerational transmission of cognitive skills," IFS Working Papers W10/16, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:10/16
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    File URL: http://www.ifs.org.uk/wps/wp1016.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Björklund Anders & Hederos Eriksson Karin & Jäntti Markus, 2010. "IQ and Family Background: Are Associations Strong or Weak?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
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    1. Pierre Lefebvre & Philip Merrigan, 2022. "Why Subsidize Independent Schools? Estimating the Effect of a Unique Canadian Schooling Model on Educational Attainment," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, February.
    2. Lindsey Macmillan & Claire Tyler & Anna Vignoles, 2013. "Who gets the Top Jobs? The role of family background and networks in recent graduates' access to high status professions," DoQSS Working Papers 13-15, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    3. Annemarie Ruijsbroek & Alet H Wijga & Ulrike Gehring & Marjan Kerkhof & Mariël Droomers, 2015. "School Performance: A Matter of Health or Socio-Economic Background? Findings from the PIAMA Birth Cohort Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, August.
    4. John Jerrim, 2012. "The Socio‐Economic Gradient in Teenagers' Reading Skills: How Does England Compare with Other Countries?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 159-184, June.
    5. Claire Tyler, 2016. "The role of non-cognitive and cognitive skills in accounting for the intergenerational transmission of 'top job' status," DoQSS Working Papers 16-03, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.

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