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Timing of College Enrollment and Family Formation Decisions

Author

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  • Humlum, Maria Knoth

    (Aarhus University)

  • Kristoffersen, Jannie H. G.

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Vejlin, Rune Majlund

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

The level of progression of an individual's educational or labor market career is a potentially important factor for family formation decisions. We address this issue by considering the effects of a particular college admission system on family formation. We show that the admission system affects mainly the timing of college enrollment and not the college-going decision. As such, we consider a specific type of career interruption and its consequences for relationship formation and fertility decisions. Specifically, we employ a regression discontinuity design based on the college admission system to estimate the effect of being above the admission requirement in the year of application on later family formation decisions. We find that the admission system has substantial effects on the timing of family formation and, specifically, that the timing of college enrollment is an important determinant hereof. This suggests that career interruptions such as delays in the educational system can have large effects on family decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Humlum, Maria Knoth & Kristoffersen, Jannie H. G. & Vejlin, Rune Majlund, 2014. "Timing of College Enrollment and Family Formation Decisions," IZA Discussion Papers 7905, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7905
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    Cited by:

    1. James, Jonathan & Vujić, Sunčica, 2019. "From high school to the high chair: Education and fertility timing," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-24.
    2. Cygan-Rehm, Kamila & Maeder, Miriam, 2013. "The effect of education on fertility: Evidence from a compulsory schooling reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 35-48.
    3. Ulrik Hvidman & Hans Henrik Sievertsen, 2021. "High-Stakes Grades and Student Behavior," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(3), pages 821-849.
    4. John Eric Humphries & Juanna Joensen & Gregory Veramendi, 2017. "College Major Choice: Sorting and Differential Returns to Skills," 2017 Meeting Papers 1623, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. Heinesen, Eskil, 2018. "Admission to higher education programmes and student educational outcomes and earnings–Evidence from Denmark," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-19.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; education policy; career interruptions; delayed college enrollment; regression discontinuity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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