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Changes in the Wage Structure, Family Income, and Children's Education

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  • Daron Acemoglu
  • Jorn-Steffen Pischke

Abstract

We exploit the changes in the distribution of family income to estimate the effect of parental resources on college education. Our strategy exploits the fact that families at the bottom of the income distribution were much poorer in the 1990s than they were in the 1970s, while the opposite is true for families in the top quartile of the distribution. Our estimates suggest large effects of family income on enrollments. For example, we find that a 10 percent increase in family income is associated with a 1.4 percent increase in the probability of attending a four-year college.

Suggested Citation

  • Daron Acemoglu & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 2000. "Changes in the Wage Structure, Family Income, and Children's Education," NBER Working Papers 7986, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7986
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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