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Parental Investments in Early Childhood and the Gender Gap in Math and Literacy

Author

Listed:
  • Amanda Chuan
  • John A. List
  • Anya Samek
  • Shreemayi Samujjwala

Abstract

Parental investments shape children's educational specializations. Using a longitudinal study, we find that parents invest more in daughters than sons at ages three through five. We find that early parental investment can explain persistently higher English scores for girls than boys four to six years later. However, there is no gender gap in math. Parental investments at ages three through five appear to contribute to girls' advantage in English but have little impact on math. Our results suggest that parental investments at early ages contributes to girls' comparative advantage in English.

Suggested Citation

  • Amanda Chuan & John A. List & Anya Samek & Shreemayi Samujjwala, 2022. "Parental Investments in Early Childhood and the Gender Gap in Math and Literacy," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 112, pages 603-608, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:112:y:2022:p:603-08
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20221036
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Girls Excel in Language Arts Early, Which May Explain the STEM Gender Gap in Adults
      by ? in ScienceBlog.com on 2022-04-20 13:39:14

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    Cited by:

    1. Chih Ming Tan & Xiao Wang & Xiaobo Zhang, 2024. "It's all in the stars: The Chinese zodiac and the effects of parental investments on offspring's cognitive and noncognitive skill development," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 877-920, July.
    2. Buhl-Wiggers, Julie & Thornton, Rebecca & Valenzuela, Irina, 2025. "Girls outperforming boys: Pre-school gender gap in literacy and numeracy skills in Sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. Houmark, Mikkel Aagaard, 2023. "First Among Equals? How Birth Order Shapes Child Development," MPRA Paper 119325, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Michael Cuna & Lenka Fiala & Min Sok Lee & John A. List & Sutanuka Roy, 2025. "The Role of Risk and Ambiguity Preferences on Early-Childhood Investment: Evidence from Rural India," NBER Working Papers 33610, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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