IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v82y2023ics1043951x2300158x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Parents' early experience and children's years of schooling: The long-term impact of son preference

Author

Listed:
  • Cheng, Yawen
  • Kong, Dongmin
  • Wang, Qin

Abstract

It is well documented that years of schooling are largely influenced by the family. However, few studies have examined the intergenerational effect of individuals' early experience on their offspring's educational attainment. Using China's 1959–1961 famine as an exogenous shock, we construct a difference-in-difference model based on different famine severities across provinces and cohorts. We find that daughters of rural famine fathers have lower educational attainment. Mechanism analysis shows that male famine survivors are more likely to be observed in families with a strong son preference, which is passed on to their daughters and damages their educational attainment. The effect is more pronounced especially when the daughter is not an only child, has a brother, or the second child in the family is a son. The above results are robust to different specifications and alternative measures, suggesting that individuals' early experience may negatively affect the offspring's educational attainment through an entrenched cultural concept.

Suggested Citation

  • Cheng, Yawen & Kong, Dongmin & Wang, Qin, 2023. "Parents' early experience and children's years of schooling: The long-term impact of son preference," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s1043951x2300158x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2023.102073
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X2300158X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2023.102073?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jo Blanden, 2004. "Family Income and Educational Attainment: A Review of Approaches and Evidence for Britain," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 20(2), pages 245-263, Summer.
    2. Futoshi Yamauchi, 2008. "Early Childhood Nutrition, Schooling, and Sibling Inequality in a Dynamic Context: Evidence from South Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(3), pages 657-682, April.
    3. Kim, Seonghoon & Deng, Quheng & Fleisher, Belton M. & Li, Shi, 2014. "The Lasting Impact of Parental Early Life Malnutrition on Their Offspring: Evidence from the China Great Leap Forward Famine," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 232-242.
    4. Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica & Jessica Pan, 2015. "Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 571-614.
    5. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    6. Wei Li & Dennis Tao Yang, 2005. "The Great Leap Forward: Anatomy of a Central Planning Disaster," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(4), pages 840-877, August.
    7. James J. Heckman & John Eric Humphries & Gregory Veramendi, 2018. "Returns to Education: The Causal Effects of Education on Earnings, Health, and Smoking," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(S1), pages 197-246.
    8. Ding, Yawen & Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2022. "Memory of famine: The persistent impact of famine experience on food waste behavior," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Loren Brandt & Aloysius Siow & Carl Vogel, 2008. "Large Shocks and Small Changes in the Marriage Market for Famine Born Cohorts in China," Working Papers tecipa-334, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    10. SHI, Xinzheng, 2011. "Famine, fertility, and fortune in china," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 244-259, June.
    11. Mu, Ren & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2011. "Why does the Great Chinese Famine affect the male and female survivors differently? Mortality selection versus son preference," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 92-105, January.
    12. Erik Plug & Wim Vijverberg, 2003. "Schooling, Family Background, and Adoption: Is It Nature or Is It Nurture?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(3), pages 611-641, June.
    13. Huang, Wei & Zhou, Yi, 2013. "Effects of education on cognition at older ages: Evidence from China's Great Famine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 54-62.
    14. Caruso, Germán Daniel, 2017. "The legacy of natural disasters: The intergenerational impact of 100 years of disasters in Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 209-233.
    15. Huang, Cheng & Phillips, Michael R. & Zhang, Yali & Zhang, Jingxuan & Shi, Qichang & Song, Zhiqiang & Ding, Zhijie & Pang, Shutao & Martorell, Reynaldo, 2013. "Malnutrition in early life and adult mental health: Evidence from a natural experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 259-266.
    16. Philippe Belley & Lance Lochner, 2007. "The Changing Role of Family Income and Ability in Determining Educational Achievement," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 37-89.
    17. Chen, Yuyu & Zhou, Li-An, 2007. "The long-term health and economic consequences of the 1959-1961 famine in China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 659-681, July.
    18. Lin, Justin Yifu & Yang, Dennis Tao, 2000. "Food Availability, Entitlements and the Chinese Famine of 1959-61," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(460), pages 136-158, January.
    19. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    20. Kung, James Kai-Sing & Chen, Shuo, 2011. "The Tragedy of the Nomenklatura: Career Incentives and Political Radicalism during China's Great Leap Famine," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 105(1), pages 27-45, February.
    21. Yi Chen & Ziying Fan & Xiaomin Gu & Li-An Zhou, 2020. "Arrival of Young Talent: The Send-Down Movement and Rural Education in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(11), pages 3393-3430, November.
    22. Feng, Xunan & Johansson, Anders C., 2018. "Living through the Great Chinese Famine: Early-life experiences and managerial decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 638-657.
    23. Xin Meng & Nancy Qian, 2009. "The Long Term Consequences of Famine on Survivors: Evidence from a Unique Natural Experiment using China's Great Famine," NBER Working Papers 14917, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Kong, Dongmin & Zhao, Ying & Liu, Shasha, 2021. "Trust and innovation: Evidence from CEOs' early-life experience," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tan, Chih Ming & Tan, Zhibo & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2014. "Sins of the fathers: The intergenerational legacy of the 1959-1961 Great Chinese Famine on children's cognitive development:," IFPRI discussion papers 1351, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Kim, Seonghoon & Deng, Quheng & Fleisher, Belton M. & Li, Shi, 2014. "The Lasting Impact of Parental Early Life Malnutrition on Their Offspring: Evidence from the China Great Leap Forward Famine," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 232-242.
    3. Li, Qiang & An, Lian, 2015. "Intergenerational health consequences of the 1959–1961 Great Famine on children in rural China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 27-40.
    4. Seonghoon Kim & Belton Fleisher & Jessica Ya Sun, 2017. "The Long‐term Health Effects of Fetal Malnutrition: Evidence from the 1959–1961 China Great Leap Forward Famine," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(10), pages 1264-1277, October.
    5. Chih Ming Tan & Zhibo Tan & Xiaobo Zhang, 2014. "Sins of the Father: The Intergenerational Legacy of the 1959-61 Great Chinese Famine on Children's Cognitive Development," Working Paper series 08_14, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    6. Xue Feng Hu & Gordon G. Liu & Maoyong Fan, 2017. "Long‐Term Effects of Famine on Chronic Diseases: Evidence from China's Great Leap Forward Famine," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(7), pages 922-936, July.
    7. Yiru Wang, 2023. "Famine and matching by socioeconomic status—evidence from the Great Chinese Famine," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 855-912, September.
    8. Chen, Xiangpo & Hu, Xinyan & Xu, Jinhai, 2023. "When winter is over, its cold remains: Early-life famine experience breeds risk aversion," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    9. Wenli Cheng & Hui Shi, 2019. "Surviving the Famine Unscathed? An Analysis of the Long‐Term Health Effects of the Great Chinese Famine," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(2), pages 746-772, October.
    10. Tan, Chih Ming & Tan, Zhibo & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2023. "The intergenerational legacy of the 1959–1961 Great Chinese Famine on children’s cognitive development," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    11. Seonghoon Kim & Quheng Deng & Belton M. Fleisher & Shi Li, 2010. "The Lasting Impact of Mothers’ Fetal Malnutrition on Their Offspring: Evidence from the China Great Leap Forward Famine," Working Papers 10-01, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.
    12. Ziying Fan & Wei Xiong & Li-An Zhou, 2016. "Information Distortion in Hierarchical Organizations: A Study of China’s Great Famine," Working Papers 2016-8, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    13. Yao, Yuxin & Zhang, Yi, 2023. "The long-term and intergenerational effects of early-life hunger experience on human capital and labor market outcomes," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    14. Kim, Seonghoon & Quheng, Deng & Fleisher, Belton M. & Li, Shi, 2010. "The Lasting Impact of Mothers' Fetal Malnutrition on Their Offspring: Evidence from the China Great Leap Forward Famine," IZA Discussion Papers 5194, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Feng, Xunan & Johansson, Anders C., 2018. "Living through the Great Chinese Famine: Early-life experiences and managerial decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 638-657.
    16. Lay Margaret J. & Norling Johannes, 2020. "The Consequences of the 1959–1961 Chinese Famine for Educational Attainment," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(2), pages 1-23, April.
    17. Huang, Cheng & Phillips, Michael R. & Zhang, Yali & Zhang, Jingxuan & Shi, Qichang & Song, Zhiqiang & Ding, Zhijie & Pang, Shutao & Martorell, Reynaldo, 2013. "Malnutrition in early life and adult mental health: Evidence from a natural experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 259-266.
    18. Xu, Hongwei & Li, Lydia & Zhang, Zhenmei & Liu, Jinyu, 2016. "Is natural experiment a cure? Re-examining the long-term health effects of China's 1959–1961 famine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 110-122.
    19. Richard Akresh & Sonia Bhalotra & Marinella Leone & Una Osili, 2023. "First- and Second-Generation Impacts of the Biafran War," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 488-531.
    20. Ampaabeng, Samuel K. & Tan, Chih Ming, 2013. "The long-term cognitive consequences of early childhood malnutrition: The case of famine in Ghana," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1013-1027.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s1043951x2300158x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.