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It's Not All about Parents' Education, It Also Matters What They Do: Parents' Employment and Children's School Success in Germany

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  • Christina Boll
  • Malte Hoffmann

Abstract

In this paper, we use SOEP data to explore whether parents’ employment has an extra effect on the school achievement of their children, beyond the well‐established effects of education, income and demography. First, we test whether the source of income or parents’ unemployment determine children’s school achievements. Second, we analyze the effect of job prestige and factors of societal engagement on children’s performance. Our results indicate no clear income associations but the existence of an employment channel as well as a social channel from mothers to their kids. A negative role model for girls is found for maternal housework. Moreover, the fathers’ job prestige is substantial.

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  • Christina Boll & Malte Hoffmann, 2015. "It's Not All about Parents' Education, It Also Matters What They Do: Parents' Employment and Children's School Success in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 735, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp735
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    2. Bernhard Boockmann & Sebastían Nielen, 2016. "Mentoring Disadavantaged Youths during School-to-work Transition: Evidence from Germany," IAW Discussion Papers 123, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW).

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    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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