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Parental Income and Children’s Life Course: Lessons from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics

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  • Greg J. Duncan
  • Ariel Kalil
  • Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest

Abstract

This article reviews how the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) has contributed to our understanding of the links between childhood economic conditions—in particular, the household incomes with very young children—and the economic attainment and health of those children when they reach adulthood. From its beginning, the PSID has provided data useful for addressing intergenerational questions. In the mid-1990s, PSID data supported a series of studies that link early childhood income to early adult attainments, particularly to completed schooling. At the same time, discoveries in neurobiology and epidemiology were beginning to provide details on the processes producing the observed correlations. These discoveries led to a more recent set of PSID-based studies that focus not only on labor market and behavioral outcomes, but also on links between income in the earliest stages of life (including the prenatal period) and adult health. Links between economic disadvantage in childhood and adult health, and the developmental neuroscience underlying those links, are promising areas for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Greg J. Duncan & Ariel Kalil & Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, 2018. "Parental Income and Children’s Life Course: Lessons from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 680(1), pages 82-96, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:680:y:2018:i:1:p:82-96
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716218801534
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Randall K. Q. Akee & William E. Copeland & Gordon Keeler & Adrian Angold & E. Jane Costello, 2010. "Parents' Incomes and Children's Outcomes: A Quasi-experiment Using Transfer Payments from Casino Profits," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 86-115, January.
    2. William N. Evans & Craig L. Garthwaite, 2014. "Giving Mom a Break: The Impact of Higher EITC Payments on Maternal Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 258-290, May.
    3. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie, 2011. "Killing Me Softly: The Fetal Origins Hypothesis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 153-172, Summer.
    4. Duncan, Greg J & Hill, Daniel H, 1989. "Assessing the Quality of Household Panel Data: The Case of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 7(4), pages 441-452, October.
    5. Ziol-Guest, K.M. & Duncan, G.J. & Kalil, A., 2009. "Early childhood poverty and adult body mass index," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(3), pages 527-532.
    6. Robert Haveman & Barbara Wolfe, 1995. "The Determinants of Children's Attainments: A Review of Methods and Findings," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1829-1878, December.
    7. Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Douglas Almond, 2016. "Long-Run Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 903-934, April.
    8. Greg J. Duncan & Ariel Kalil & Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, 2017. "Increasing Inequality in Parent Incomes and Children’s Schooling," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1603-1626, October.
    9. Bound, John & Brown, Charles & Duncan, Greg J & Rodgers, Willard L, 1994. "Evidence on the Validity of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Labor Market Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(3), pages 345-368, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Robert Paul Hartley & Lauren Toppenberg & Shatakshee Dhongde, 2024. "Poverty and Disadvantage throughout Childhood in the United States," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(6), pages 2709-2737, December.
    2. Nicardo S. McInnis & Katherine Michelmore & Natasha Pilkauskas, 2023. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty and Public Assistance: Evidence from the Earned Income Tax Credit," NBER Working Papers 31429, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Maître, Bertrand & Russell, Helen & Alamir, Anousheh & Slevin, Eva, 2025. "Child poverty on the island of Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS199, December.

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