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Maternal investments and child cognitive achievement

Author

Listed:
  • Jeremy A. Cook

    (Wheaton College)

  • John Stuart Rabon

    (Missouri State University)

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the effects of maternal investment decisions on child development, as measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Using the NLSY79, we model the life-cycle marriage, fertility, schooling, employment, and child care outcomes of mothers jointly with the achievement outcomes of their children. By treating these maternal outcomes as endogenous, we can avoid the potential bias of unobserved mother or child factors that influence both maternal investment and child achievement outcomes. Our results show positive effects of mother's human capital and work experience and negative effects of birth order and family size. We also find negative effects of informal child care use in the first year of a child's life.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeremy A. Cook & John Stuart Rabon, 2018. "Maternal investments and child cognitive achievement," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 38(3), pages 1632-1654.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-17-01005
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human capital; Child achievement; Maternal employment; Family structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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