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Is My Parents' Divorce to Blame for My Failure in Life? A joint Model of Child Educational Attainments and Parental Divorce

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  • Shirley H. Liu

    (Department of Economics, University of Miami)

Abstract

This study examines the potential causal effect of parental divorce on child educational attainments, using annual data on individuals covering the entire time span between birth until the completion of ones schooling drawn from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). A joint hazard model of schooling attainment and parental marital dissolution is estimated, allowing for correlations between unobserved factors that affect the parents’ human capital investment choices toward their children and their decision to divorce. After accounting for dynamic variations in family socioeconomic circumstances, experiences, and family unobserved heterogeneity, this study finds no evidence that divorce negatively affects children’s long-term educational attainments. The findings suggest that the differences in educational attainments between children of divorced and intact parents are not attributable to divorce, but rather the underlying mechanism that triggered divorce in the first place.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:mia:wpaper:0610
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    File URL: https://www.herbert.miami.edu/_assets/files/repec/wp-0610.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Proto, Eugenio & Sgroi, Daniel & Oswald, Andrew J., 2010. "Are Happiness and Productivity Lower among University Students with Newly-Divorced Parents? An Experimental Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 4755, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Eugenio Proto & Daniel Sgroi & Andrew Oswald, 2012. "Are happiness and productivity lower among young people with newly-divorced parents? An experimental and econometric approach," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; Divorce; Adolescent Outcome; Educational Attainment; Joint Hazard Model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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