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Why Children of College Graduates Outperform their Schoolmates: A Study of Cousins and Adoptees

Author

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  • Haegeland, Torbjørn

    (Statistics Norway)

  • Kirkeboen, Lars

    (University of Oslo)

  • Raaum, Oddbjørn

    (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research)

  • Salvanes, Kjell G.

    (Norwegian School of Economics)

Abstract

Massive cross-sectional evidence exists indicating that children of more educated parents outperform their schoolmates. However, evidence for causal interpretation of this association is weak. We examine a causal relationship using two approaches for identification within the same data: cousins with twin parents and adopted children. We find no effect of mothers' education on children's school performance using the children-of-twins approach. However, for adopted children, mother's education has a small positive effect. Tracking the work experience of parents during offspring childhood, we find no support that this effect can be explained by a higher labor force participation among more educated mothers.

Suggested Citation

  • Haegeland, Torbjørn & Kirkeboen, Lars & Raaum, Oddbjørn & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2010. "Why Children of College Graduates Outperform their Schoolmates: A Study of Cousins and Adoptees," IZA Discussion Papers 5369, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5369
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    1. Anders Björklund & Mikael Lindahl & Erik Plug, 2006. "The Origins of Intergenerational Associations: Lessons from Swedish Adoption Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(3), pages 999-1028.
    2. Jonathan Guryan & Erik Hurst & Melissa Kearney, 2008. "Parental Education and Parental Time with Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 23-46, Summer.
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    Cited by:

    1. Holmlund, Helena & Lindahl, Mikael & Plug, Erik, 2010. "The Causal Eff ect of Parent’s Schooling on Children’s Schooling," Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies 2010:8, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    2. Helena Holmlund & Mikael Lindahl & Erik Plug, 2011. "The Causal Effect of Parents' Schooling on Children's Schooling: A Comparison of Estimation Methods," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 615-651, September.
    3. Amin, Vikesh & Lundborg, Petter & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2015. "The intergenerational transmission of schooling: Are mothers really less important than fathers?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 100-117.
    4. Björklund, Anders & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2011. "Education and Family Background: Mechanisms and Policies," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 3, pages 201-247, Elsevier.
    5. Gould, Eric D., 2023. "The Return to College, Marriage, and Intergenerational Mobility," IZA Discussion Papers 16559, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Gould, Eric & Simhon, Avi, 2011. "Does Quality Time Produce Quality Children? Evidence on the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital using Parental Deat," CEPR Discussion Papers 8258, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Petter Lundborg & Martin Nordin & Dan Olof Rooth, 2018. "The intergenerational transmission of human capital: the role of skills and health," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 1035-1065, October.
    8. Lundborg, Petter & Nordin, Martin & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2011. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital: Exploring the Role of Skills and Health Using Data on Adoptees and Twins," IZA Discussion Papers 6099, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Wang, Weidong & Dong, Yongqing & Liu, Xiaohong & Bai, Yunli & Zhang, Linxiu, 2020. "The effect of parents’ education on the academic and non-cognitive outcomes of their children: Evidence from China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    10. Marte E. S. Ulvestad & Simen Markussen, 2023. "Born or bred? The roles of nature and nurture for intergenerational persistence in labour market outcomes," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 1005-1047, April.
    11. Lundborg, Petter & Plug, Erik & Rasmussen, Astrid Würtz, 2021. "On the Family Origins of Human Capital Formation: Evidence from Donor Children," IZA Discussion Papers 14708, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Dong Zhou & Aparajita Dasgupta, 2017. "Understanding the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital: Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment in China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 321-352, May.
    13. Jennifer March Augustine & Daniela V. Negraia, 2018. "Can Increased Educational Attainment Among Lower-Educated Mothers Reduce Inequalities in Children’s Skill Development?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 59-82, February.
    14. Mary A. Silles, 2017. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Education: New Evidence from Adoptions in the USA," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 84(336), pages 748-778, October.
    15. Eric D. Gould & Avi Simhon & Bruce A. Weinberg, 2020. "Does Parental Quality Matter? Evidence on the Transmission of Human Capital Using Variation in Parental Influence from Death, Divorce, and Family Size," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(2), pages 569-610.
    16. Adrian Adermon & Mikael Lindahl & Mårten Palme, 2021. "Dynastic Human Capital, Inequality, and Intergenerational Mobility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(5), pages 1523-1548, May.
    17. Kieron J. Barclay & Torkild H. Lyngstad & Dalton Conley, 2018. "The production of inequalities within families and across generations: the intergenerational effects of birth order and family size on educational attainment," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2018-002, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    18. Kieron Barclay & Torkild Lyngstad & Dalton Conley, 2018. "The Production of Inequalities within Families and Across Generations: The Intergenerational Effects of Birth Order and Family Size on Educational Attainment," NBER Working Papers 24530, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Björklund, Anders & Jäntti, Markus, 2012. "How important is family background for labor-economic outcomes?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 465-474.
    20. Amin, Vikesh & Lundborg, Petter & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2011. "Mothers Do Matter: New Evidence on the Effect of Parents' Schooling on Children's Schooling Using Swedish Twin Data," IZA Discussion Papers 5946, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; intergenerational mobility; twin parents; adoptees;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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