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Family structure, economic status, and educational attainment

Author

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  • Scott Boggess

    (Department of Demography, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057-1043, USA)

Abstract

This study examines the effect of family structure on high school graduation by race and gender using data from the first twenty-one waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and recently available retrospective marital histories. The nature of the data allows for a more complete specification of family structure than has been heretofore possible. The analysis tests the hypothesis that the negative effect on educational attainment often associated with living in a mother-only or stepfather family stems primarily from the reduced level of economic resources available to these households. Empirical findings indicate that living with a widowed, divorced, or separated mother has little or no effect on educational attainment once we control for economic status. However, living in a stepfather family appears to have a persistent negative effect on high school graduation rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott Boggess, 1998. "Family structure, economic status, and educational attainment," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 11(2), pages 205-222.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:11:y:1998:i:2:p:205-222
    Note: Received: 24 July 1995 / Accepted: 9 September 1997
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    Cited by:

    1. Kelly Balistreri, 2010. "Welfare and the Children of Immigrants: Transmission of Dependence or Investment in the Future?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 29(5), pages 715-743, October.
    2. Iacovou, Maria & J. Skew, Alexandra, 2010. "Household structure in the EU," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-10, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    3. Benta A. Abuya & Maurice Mutisya & Elijah O. Onsomu & Moses Ngware & Moses Oketch, 2019. "Family Structure and Child Educational Attainment in the Slums of Nairobi, Kenya," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, June.
    4. Miriam Beblo & Stanislawa Golinowska & Charlotte Lauer & Katarzyna Pietka & Agnieszka Sowa, 2002. "Poverty Dynamics in Poland. Selected Quantitative Analyses," CASE Network Reports 0054, CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research.
    5. Mahler, Philippe & Winkelmann, Rainer, 2004. "Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal Educational Opportunities: Evidence for Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 1391, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Nusrat Farah & Mukti P. Upadhyay, 2017. "How are school dropouts related to household characteristics? Analysis of survey data from Bangladesh," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1268746-126, January.
    7. I. Ku & R. D. Plotnick, "undated". "Do Children from Welfare Families Obtain Less Education?," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1217-00, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    8. Anger, Silke & Christoph, Bernhard & Galkiewicz, Agata & Margaryan, Shushanik & Peter, Frauke & Sandner, Malte & Siedler, Thomas, 2024. "A Library in the Palm of Your Hand? A Randomized Reading Intervention with Low-Income Children," IZA Discussion Papers 17322, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Björklund, Anders & Ginther, Donna K. & Sundström, Marianne, 2004. "Family Structure and Child Outcomes in the United States and Sweden," IZA Discussion Papers 1259, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Coelli, Michael B. & Green, David A. & Warburton, William P., 2007. "Breaking the cycle? The effect of education on welfare receipt among children of welfare recipients," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(7-8), pages 1369-1398, August.
    11. Donna K. Ginther & Robert A. Pollak, 2000. "Does family structure affect children's educational outcomes?," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2000-13, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    12. Heflin, Colleen M. & Acevedo, Sharon Kukla, 2011. "Non-income effects of welfare receipt on early childhood cognitive scores," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 634-643, May.
    13. Mohanty, Madhu S. & Ullah, Aman, 2012. "Direct and indirect effects of happiness on wage: A simultaneous equations approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 143-152.
    14. Miriam Beblo & Charlotte Lauer, 2004. "Do family resources matter? Educational attainment during transition in Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 12(3), pages 537-558, September.
    15. Shirley H. Liu, 2007. "Is My Parents' Divorce to Blame for My Failure in Life? A joint Model of Child Educational Attainments and Parental Divorce," Working Papers 0610, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    16. Philippe Mahler & Rainer Winkelmann, 2004. "Secondary School Track Selection of Single-Parent Children � Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel," SOI - Working Papers 0415, Socioeconomic Institute - University of Zurich, revised Oct 2005.
    17. Whitaker, Stephan, 2011. "The impact of legalized abortion on high school graduation through selection and composition," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 228-246, April.
    18. Ludwig, Jens, 1999. "Information and inner city educational attainment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 17-30, February.
    19. Ochsen, Carsten, 2008. "Parental labor market success and children's education attainment," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 95, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics.
    20. Wang, Ling & Ruan, Jianqing, 2023. "Conflict or harmony? The impact of family cultural diversity on children's educational attainment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Family structure · education · income;

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General

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