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Early Motherhood and Offspring Human Capital in India

Author

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  • Marcelloa Perez-Alvarez
  • Marta Favara

Abstract

Using panel data from India, this paper investigates the effect of early maternal age on offspring human capital. The analysis relies on mother fixed effects to allow for mother unobserved heterogeneity and employs a variety of empirical strategies to address remaining concerns related to sibling-specific unobserved heterogeneity. Our results indicate that children born to early mothers are shorter for their age and perform poorer in math, with stronger effects for (female) offspring born to very young mothers. By exploring the evolution of effects over time for the first time in the literature, we find that the height effect weakens as children grow older, while the cognition effect surges in early adolescence. Further analysis suggests both biological and behavioral factors as transmission channels.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcelloa Perez-Alvarez & Marta Favara, 2020. "Early Motherhood and Offspring Human Capital in India," CSAE Working Paper Series 2020-15, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2020-15
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eva‐Maria Egger & Aslihan Arslan & Emanuele Zucchini, 2022. "Does connectivity reduce gender gaps in off‐farm employment? Evidence from 12 low‐ and middle‐income countries," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(1), pages 197-218, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Early Motherhood; Health; Cognition; Nutrition; Fertility; Human Capital; Child Development; Gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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