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The impact of parental layoff on higher education investment

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  • Pan, Weixiang
  • Ost, Ben

Abstract

This paper uses variation in the timing of parental layoff to identify the effect of parental job loss on higher education enrollment. Unlike research that compares laid-off workers to workers who do not lose their jobs, all families in our analysis experience a layoff at some point. The treatment group (layoff when child is 15–17) and control group (layoff when child is 21–23) have statistically indistinguishable initial characteristics, but substantially different higher education enrollment rates. We find that parental job loss between ages 15 and 17 decreases college enrollment by 10 percentage points.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Weixiang & Ost, Ben, 2014. "The impact of parental layoff on higher education investment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 53-63.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:42:y:2014:i:c:p:53-63
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2014.06.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, 2020. "Job loss at home: children’s school performance during the Great Recession," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 243-286, September.
    2. Regmi, Krishna & J. Henderson, Daniel, 2019. "Labor demand shocks at birth and cognitive achievement during childhood," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. George Bulman & Robert Fairlie & Sarena Goodman & Adam Isen, 2021. "Parental Resources and College Attendance: Evidence from Lottery Wins," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(4), pages 1201-1240, April.
    4. Bingley, Paul & Cappellari, Lorenzo & Ovidi, Marco, 2023. "When It Hurts the Most: Timing of Parental Job Loss and a Child's Education," IZA Discussion Papers 16367, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Di Maio, Michele & Nisticò, Roberto, 2019. "The effect of parental job loss on child school dropout: Evidence from the Occupied Palestinian Territories," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    6. Nikolova, Milena & Nikolaev, Boris N., 2021. "Family matters: The effects of parental unemployment in early childhood and adolescence on subjective well-being later in life," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 312-331.
    7. Ruiz-Valenzuela, Jenifer, 2015. "Job loss at home: children’s school performanceduring the Great Recession in Spain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 63804, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Michelle M. Miller & Frank McIntyre, 2020. "Does Money Matter for Intergenerational Income Transmission?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(3), pages 941-970, January.
    9. Safoura Moeeni, 2022. "The Intergenerational Effects of Economic Sanctions," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(2), pages 269-304.
    10. Fu, Wentao & Zhu, Feng & Cheng, Yao, 2023. "Gender differences in intergenerational effects of laid-off parents," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    11. Gurgand, Marc & Lorenceau, Adrien & Mélonio, Thomas, 2023. "Student loans: Credit constraints and higher education in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    12. Nick Drydakis, 2023. "Parental unemployment and adolescents' academic performance," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 44(7), pages 1362-1381, February.
    13. Claudia Hupkau & Ingo Isphording & Stephen Machin & Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, 2020. "Labour market shocks during the Covid-19 pandemic: inequalities and child outcomes," CEP Covid-19 Analyses cepcovid-19-015, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    14. Mari, Gabriele, 2022. "Parental unemployment and children's education: A note on the very small role of aspirations," SocArXiv xzs8r, Center for Open Science.
    15. Mari, Gabriele & Keizer, Renske & van Gaalen, Ruben, 2022. "The Timing of Parental Unemployment, Insurance, and Children's Education," SocArXiv 7rm6g, Center for Open Science.
    16. Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela, 2015. "Job Loss at Home: Children's School Performance During the Great Recession in Spain," CEP Discussion Papers dp1364, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    17. HeeJin Kim & Sunghun Kim & Eunjee Lee, 2022. "Cox Proportional Hazards Regression for Interval-Censored Data with an Application to College Entrance and Parental Job Loss," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-15, September.
    18. Krishna Regmi, 2019. "Examining The Externality Of Unemployment Insurance On Children'S Educational Achievement," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(1), pages 172-187, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Higher education; Layoff;

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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