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Does children's education matter for parents’ health and cognition? Evidence from China

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  • Ma, Mingming

Abstract

Intergenerational transmission of human capital from parents to offspring is widely documented. However, whether there are upward spillovers from children to parents remains understudied. This paper uses data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study to estimate the causal impact of educational attainment of children on various health and cognition outcomes of older parents. Identification is achieved by using the exposure of children to the compulsory education law in China and its interaction with local schooling level before law enforcement as instruments for children's years of schooling. IV estimation results demonstrate that increasing years of education of children lead to better cognitive functions, higher survival expectations and improved lung function of Chinese older parents. Further evidence suggests that children's education might shape health of older parents by providing financial support, affecting the access to resources and influencing the labor supply and psychological well-being of parents.

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  • Ma, Mingming, 2019. "Does children's education matter for parents’ health and cognition? Evidence from China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 222-240.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:66:y:2019:i:c:p:222-240
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2019.06.004
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Health; Cognition; Children; Upward spillover; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • N37 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Africa; Oceania

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