Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal EducationalOpportunities: Evidence for Germany

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Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal EducationalOpportunities: Evidence for Germany

Author Info

Philippe Mahler () (Socioeconomic Institute, University of Zurich)
Rainer Winkelmann () (Socioeconomic Institute, University of Zurich)

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Rainer Winkelmann

Abstract

We examine the effect of single motherhood on children’s secondary school track choice using 12-year-old children drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel. In line with previous studies for the U.S., the U.K. and Sweden, we find a negative correlation between single motherhood and children’s educational attainment. Looking for alternative explanations for this correlation, we use probit regression models to control for factors related to single motherhood such as higher educational background, lower household income and higher labor supply of the mother. Our evidence suggests that single motherhood reduces school attainment mainly because it is associated with lower resources (household income) available for the child.

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Paper provided by University of Zurich, Socioeconomic Institute in its series Working Papers with number 0512.

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Length: 22 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2005
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Handle: RePEc:soz:wpaper:0512

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Paper
- Mahler, Philippe & Winkelmann, Rainer, 2004. "Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal Educational Opportunities: Evidence for Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 1391, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

NEP-ALL-2006-02-12 (All new papers)
NEP-EDU-2006-02-12 (Education)
NEP-EEC-2006-02-12 (European Economics)
NEP-HRM-2006-02-12 (Human Capital & Human Resource Management)
NEP-URE-2006-02-12 (Urban & Real Estate Economics)

References listed on IDEAS
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.:

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