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It Takes a Village: The Economics of Parenting with Neighborhood and Peer Effects

Author

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  • Agostinelli, Francesco

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Doepke, Matthias

    (Northwestern University)

  • Sorrenti, Giuseppe

    (University of Lausanne)

  • Zilibotti, Fabrizio

    (Yale University)

Abstract

As children reach adolescence, peer interactions become increasingly central to their development, whereas the direct influence of parents wanes. Nevertheless, parents may continue to exert leverage by shaping their children's peer groups. We study interactions of parenting style and peer effects in a model where children's skill accumulation depends on both parental inputs and peers, and where parents can affect the peer group by restricting who their children can interact with. We estimate the model and show that it can capture empirical patterns regarding the interaction of peer characteristics, parental behavior, and skill accumulation among US high school students. We use the estimated model for policy simulations. We find that interventions (e.g., busing) that move children to a more favorable neighborhood have large effects but lose impact when they are scaled up because parents' equilibrium responses push against successful integration with the new peer group.

Suggested Citation

  • Agostinelli, Francesco & Doepke, Matthias & Sorrenti, Giuseppe & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2020. "It Takes a Village: The Economics of Parenting with Neighborhood and Peer Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 13161, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13161
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    skill acquisition; peer effects; parenting; parenting style; neighborhood effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • 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
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

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