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Intergenerational Transfer of Human Capital and Optimal Education Policy

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  • Cremer, Helmuth
  • Pestieau, Pierre

Abstract

This paper studies the design of education policies in a setting of successive generations with heterogeneous individuals (high and low earning ability). Parents' investment in education is motivated by warm glow altruism and determines the probability that a child has high ability. Education policies consist of a subsidy on private educational investments and possibly of public education. We show that when an income tax is available, the subsidy on education should not depend on redistributive considerations. Instead, it is determined by two terms. First, a Pigouvian term which arises because under warm glow altruism parents' utility does not properly account for the impact of education on future generations. The second term captures a 'merit good' effect, which arises when the warm glow term is not fully included in social welfare (possibility of laundering out). The two terms are of opposite sign and the optimal subsidy may be positive or negative. Finally, we derive conditions under which public education is welfare improving and show that total crowding out of private expenditure (for one of the types) may be desirable.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

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  • Cremer, Helmuth & Pestieau, Pierre, 2004. "Intergenerational Transfer of Human Capital and Optimal Education Policy," IDEI Working Papers 318, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    • Handle: RePEc:ide:wpaper:3002
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    Cited by:

    1. Zeng, Jinli & Zhang, Jie, 2022. "Education policies and development with threshold human capital externalities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    2. Claire Borsenberger & Helmuth Cremer & Denis Joram & Jean-Marie Lozachmeur & Estelle Malavolti, 2023. "E-commerce and Parcel Delivery: Environmental Policy with Green Consumers," Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy, in: Pier Luigi Parcu & Timothy J. Brennan & Victor Glass (ed.), Postal Strategies, pages 193-209, Springer.
    3. Michele Bernasconi & Paola Profeta, 2007. "Redistribution or Education? The Political Economy of the Social Race," CESifo Working Paper Series 1934, CESifo.
    4. Helmuth Cremer & ) & Pierre Pestieau, 2003. "Wealth Transfer Taxation: A Survey," Public Economics 0311003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Genicot, Garance, 2016. "Two-sided altruism and signaling," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 92-97.
    6. Alessandra Casarico & Alessandro Sommacal, 2012. "Labor Income Taxation, Human Capital, and Growth: The Role of Childcare," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(4), pages 1182-1207, December.
    7. Alessandra Casarico & Luca Micheletto & Alessandro Sommacal, 2015. "Intergenerational transmission of skills during childhood and optimal public policy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(2), pages 353-372, April.
    8. Sandrine A. Koissy-Kpein, 2015. "Gender-based violence and gender bias in schooling decision: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 107, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Bernasconi, Michele & Profeta, Paola, 2012. "Public education and redistribution when talents are mismatched," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 84-96.
    10. Francesca Carta, 2013. "Investing in the youngest: the optimal child care policy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 180, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    11. C. Fan & Jie Zhang, 2013. "Differential fertility and intergenerational mobility under private versus public education," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 907-941, July.
    12. Marion Davin & Karine Gente & Carine Nourry, 2012. "Social optimum in an OLG model with paternalistic altruism," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(4), pages 3417-3424.
    13. Helmuth Cremer & Pierre Pestieau, 2011. "The Tax Treatment of Intergenerational Wealth Transfers ," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 57(2), pages 365-401, June.
    14. Theodore Palivos & Dimitrios Varvarigos, 2013. "Intergenerational Complementarities in Education, Endogenous Public Policy, and the Relation Between Growth and Volatility," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 15(2), pages 249-272, April.
    15. Wu, T.C. Michael & Yang, C.C., 2014. "Income tax deductions for losses as insurance revisited," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 274-280.
    16. Nikos Benos, 2004. "Education Policies and Economic Growth," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 4-2004, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    17. repec:hal:wpaper:hal-03613363 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Cremer, Helmuth & Lozachmeur, Jean-Marie & Pestieau, Pierre, 2016. "The design of long term care insurance contracts," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 330-339.
    19. Takakura, Kei, 2023. "Child mortality, child labor, fertility, and demographics," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    20. Wu, T.C. Michael & Yang, C.C., 2012. "The welfare effect of income tax deductions for losses as insurance: Insured- versus insurer-sided adverse selection," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 2641-2645.
    21. Tsaur-Chin Michael Wu & Chih-Ta Yen & Che-Chiang Huang & Jin-Li Hu, 2023. "Social Insurance Under Fraud And Redistributive Taxation," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 68(02), pages 467-483.
    22. Sandrine A. Koissy-Kpein, 2015. "Gender-based violence and gender bias in schooling decision: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-107, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    23. Sano, Koichiro & Tomoda, Yasunobu, 2010. "Optimal public education policy in a two sector model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 991-995, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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