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Parental Responses to Information about School Quality: Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data

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  • Ellen Greaves
  • Iftikhar Hussain
  • Birgitta Rabe
  • Imran Rasul

Abstract

We study the interaction between family and school inputs by identifying the causal impact of information about school quality on parental time investment into children. Inspection ratings provide news that shifts parental beliefs about school quality, and hence investment into children. We study this using household panel data from England, linked to administrative records on school inspection ratings. We find that parents receiving good news over school quality significantly decrease time investment into their children. We provide insights on the distributional and test score impacts of the nationwide inspections regime, through multiple margins of endogenous response of parents and children.

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Greaves & Iftikhar Hussain & Birgitta Rabe & Imran Rasul, 2023. "Parental Responses to Information about School Quality: Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(654), pages 2334-2402.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:133:y:2023:i:654:p:2334-2402.
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    2. Gensowski, Miriam & Landersø, Rasmus & Dale, Philip & Hojen, Anders & Justice, Laura & Bleses, Dorthe, 2024. "Public and Parental Investments, and Children's Skill Formation," IZA Discussion Papers 16956, IZA Network @ LISER.
    3. Meredith M. Paker, 2025. "Review of periodical literature for 2023: (vi) 1945 to present," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 78(1), pages 387-397, February.
    4. Miriam Gensowski & Rasmus Landersø & Philip Dale & Anders Højen & Laura Justice & Dorthe Bleses, 2024. "Public and Parental Investments and Children’s Skill Formation," Working Papers 2024-011, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    5. Birgitta Rabe, 2019. "Do school inputs crowd out parents’ investments in their children?," World of Labour, LISER, pages 460-460, May.
    6. Sitong Pan, 2025. "Dynamic responses of carbon emissions to central environmental protection inspection in China," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 69(2), pages 661-713, August.
    7. Hussain, Iftikhar, 2023. "Housing market and school choice response to school quality information shocks✰," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. Elisa Facchetti & Lorenzo Neri & Marco Ovidi, 2021. "Should you Meet The Parents? The impact of information on non-test score attributes on school choice," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def113, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    9. Greta Morando & Sonkurt Sen, 2024. "The Impact of Maternal Beliefs on Child Skills Development from Early Ages to Adolescence," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_498v2, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany, revised May 2025.
    10. Greta Morando & Sonkurt Sen & Almudena Sevilla, 2024. "Maternal Beliefs and Long-Term Child Skill Development," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2024_498, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    11. Morando, Greta & Sen, Sonkurt, 2025. "Teacher Gender Effects on Students’ Socio-Emotional Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 17953, IZA Network @ LISER.
    12. Jack Britton & Damon Clark & Ines Lee, 2023. "Exploiting discontinuities in secondary school attendance to evaluate value added," IFS Working Papers W23/24, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    13. Wayne Aaron Sandholtz & Wayne Sandholtz, 2024. "Secondary School Access Raises Primary School Achievement," CESifo Working Paper Series 11343, CESifo.
    14. Francesco Agostinelli & Morteza Saharkhiz & Matthew Wiswall, 2025. "Home and School in the Development of Children," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 66(2), pages 527-566, May.
    15. Francesco Agostinelli & Morteza Saharkhiz & Matthew J. Wiswall, 2019. "Home and School in the Development of Children," NBER Working Papers 26037, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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