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The Intergenerational Transmission of Health in Early Childhood

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  • Coneus, Katja
  • Spieß, Christa Katharina

Abstract

The prevalence and importance of children's physical health problems have been increasingly recognized in recent years. Physical health problems of children such as obesity, motor impairment and chronic diseases cause social costs. Further, they can lead directly to adult physical health problems, which cause additional social costs. This paper examines the intergenerational link and transmission of both maternal and paternal health on children's health in Germany. We investigate this issue using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), making particular use of the mother and child questionnaires. These data allow us to capture a broad set of health measures: anthropometric, self-rated health and "more objective" health measures. The results indicate significant relationships between parental and child health in the first and third year of life. In order to take into account the endogeneity of parental health, we estimate fixed effect models. Overall, we find, controlling for parental income, education and family composition, that parents who experience poor health have children with significantly poorer health. For example, the father's body mass index (BMI) is a predictor for their children's BMI. Mothers who consider their health as good, have also healthier children.

Suggested Citation

  • Coneus, Katja & Spieß, Christa Katharina, 2008. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Health in Early Childhood," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-073, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7416
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    Cited by:

    1. Gregory Ponthiere, 2011. "Mortality, Family and Lifestyles," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 175-190, June.
    2. Thomas Siedler & Jürgen Schupp & C. Katharina Spiess & Gert G. Wagner, 2008. "The German Socio-Economic Panel as Reference Data Set," RatSWD Working Papers 48, German Data Forum (RatSWD).
    3. Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2009. "Entwicklung und Ungleichheit von Fähigkeiten: Anmerkungen aus ökonomischer Sicht," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-025, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Johnston, David W. & Schurer, Stefanie & Shields, Michael A., 2011. "Evidence on the Long Shadow of Poor Mental Health across Three Generations," IZA Discussion Papers 6014, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Kuo-Liang Chang & George Langelett & Andrew Waugh, 2011. "Health, Health Insurance, and Decision to Exit from Farming," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 356-372, June.
    6. Coneus, Katja & Spieß, Christa Katharina, 2010. "Pollution exposure and infant health: Evidence from Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 10-079, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Daniel Kemptner & Jan Marcus, 2011. "Spillover Effects of Maternal Education on Child's Health and Schooling," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 375, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    8. Kuo-Liang Chang & Marjorie Zastrow & Christina Zdorovtsov & Ryan Quast & Larissa Skjonsberg & Suzanne Stluka, 2015. "Do SNAP and WIC Programs Encourage More Fruit and Vegetable Intake? A Household Survey in the Northern Great Plains," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 477-490, December.
    9. Gabriella Berloffa & Eleonora Matteazzi & Paola Villa, 2016. "Family background and youth labour market outcomes across Europe," Working Papers 393, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational transmission; child health; parental health; early childhood;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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