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The Impact of Maternal Beliefs on Child Skills Development from Early Ages to Adolescence

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  • Greta Morando
  • Sonkurt Sen

Abstract

Parental beliefs about the returns to investment play a key role in shaping how parents invest in their children, yet their long-term impact on child development is understudied. Using a valueadded model in a nationally representative cohort study, we find that maternal beliefs about returns to investment, as measured by locus of control, positively influence children’s socioemotional skills from early childhood to adolescence. These beliefs have a negligible impact on cognitive skills and academic outcomes. Parental investment emerges as a key channel in this relationship, suggesting that maternal beliefs primarily shape children’s non-cognitive development through differences in how parents engage with their children. We find that intergenerational inequality in child development is partly driven by the socio-economic gradient in maternal beliefs about the returns to investment.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2024_498v2
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    File URL: https://www.crctr224.de/research/discussion-papers/archive/dp498
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Parental Beliefs; Child Development; Locus of Control; Inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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