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Maternal education, parental investment and non-cognitive characteristics in rural China

Author

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  • Jessica E. Leight

    (Williams College)

  • Elaine Liu

    (University of Houston)

Abstract

The importance of non-cognitive skills in determining long-term human capital and labor market outcomes is widely acknowledged, but relatively little is known about how educational investments by parents may respond to children's non-cognitive characteristics. This paper evaluates the parental response to non-cognitive variation across siblings in rural Gansu province, China, employing a household fixed effects specification; the non-cognitive measures of interest are defined as the inverse of both externalizing challenges (behavioral problems and aggression) and internalizing challenges (anxiety and withdrawal). The results suggest that there is significant heterogeneity with respect to maternal education. More educated mothers appear to compensate for differences between their children, investing more in a child who exhibits greater non-cognitive deficits, while less educated mothers reinforce these differences. Most importantly, there is evidence that these compensatory investments are associated with the narrowing of non-cognitive deficits over time for children of more educated mothers, while there is no comparable pattern in households with less educated mothers.

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica E. Leight & Elaine Liu, 2018. "Maternal education, parental investment and non-cognitive characteristics in rural China," Working Papers 2018-039, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2018-039
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    Cited by:

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    3. Xu, Hui & Zhang, Zheyuan & Zhao, Zhong, 2023. "Parental socioeconomic status and children’s cognitive ability in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Wang, Weidong & Dong, Yongqing & Liu, Xiaohong & Bai, Yunli & Zhang, Linxiu, 2020. "The effect of parents’ education on the academic and non-cognitive outcomes of their children: Evidence from China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. David N. Figlio & Krzysztof Karbownik & Umut Özek, 2023. "Sibling Spillovers May Enhance the Efficacy of Targeted School Policies," NBER Working Papers 31406, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Cui, Ying & Liu, Hong & Zhao, Liqiu, 2019. "Mother's education and child development: Evidence from the compulsory school reform in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 669-692.
    7. Chen, Jiwei & Zhang, Zongli, 2024. "Family poverty and adolescents’ cognitive and noncognitive outcomes: Evidence from China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    non-cognitive characteristics; parental investments; intrahousehold resource allocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation

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