Raising Up
Parents' Beliefs in the "American Dream" Affect Parental Investments in Children: Evidence from an Experiment
Rebecca Ryan et al.
University of Chicago Working Paper, September 2024
Abstract:
Research in economics and psychology shows that individuals are sensitive to cues about economic conditions in ways that affect attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. We provide causal evidence that parents' beliefs about economic mobility prospects shape parental investments of time and money in children. To do so we conduct an on-line information experiment with ~ 1,000 socioeconomically diverse parents of children ages 5-15. The information treatment aimed to manipulate parents' beliefs in the possibility for future upward (downward) economic mobility in US society. The experimental results yield three conclusions. First, parents are highly sensitive to signals about future economic mobility prospects. Second, parents who are induced to believe in the likely possibility of future upward mobility increase their beliefs about the return on their own investments of time and money. Using a novel measure of time investment we developed, these parents also increase their time investments in the service of boosting children's skill. Finally, they report being more willing to pay for resources that would boost their child's skill development. Third, these patterns are true for economically advantaged and disadvantaged families alike. We discuss the implication of these results in terms of reports showing that Americans are losing faith in "The American Dream."
Notification and consent: The differential effects of parental involvement laws on teen abortion
Graham Gardner
Review of Economics of the Household, December 2024, Pages 1517-1550
Abstract:
US state legislation requiring parental involvement in the abortion decision of a minor has grown in prevalence since its origin in the 1970s. Today, 36 states impose a parental involvement requirement on their residents below the age of 18. These laws come in two primary categories: parental notification and parental consent. Though much research estimates the effects of these policies, limited evidence exists regarding any differential impact between parental notification and parental consent. This paper uses the synthetic control method to determine if the increased marginal cost of an abortion imposed by a parental consent statute affects the abortion rate and birth rate for minors relative to parental notification. Results indicate no evidence of a marginal effect of parental consent laws on the abortion/birth rate for minors overall, suggesting that the additional cost of a parental consent law may be small.
Pointing out learning opportunities reduces overparenting
Reut Shachnai et al.
Child Development, forthcoming
Abstract:
Overparenting -- taking over and completing developmentally appropriate tasks for children -- is pervasive and hurts children's motivation. Can overparenting in early childhood be reduced by simply framing tasks as learning opportunities? In Study 1 (N = 77; 62% female; 74% White; collected 4/2022), US parents of 4-to-5-year-olds reported taking over less on tasks they perceived as greater learning opportunities, which was most often the case on academic tasks. Studies 2 and 3 (N = 140; 67% female; 52% White; collected 7/2022–9/2023) showed that framing the everyday, non-academic task of getting dressed as a learning opportunity -- whether big or small -- reduced parents' taking over by nearly half (r = −.39). These findings suggest that highlighting learning opportunities helps parents give children more autonomy.
Head Start, Household Instability, and Children’s Externalizing Behavior Problems
Elise Chor
AERA Open, November 2024
Abstract:
This study uses experimental and nationally representative Head Start Impact Study data to document the high incidence of multidomain household instability experienced by children eligible for the federal two-generation Head Start early childhood education program for low-income households. The study finds that household instability experienced during the preschool year is associated with higher levels of children’s classroom inattentive/hyperactive, aggressive, and oppositional externalizing behavior problems at the end of kindergarten. This relationship is reduced and even eliminated by access to Head Start. Exploratory evidence suggests that Head Start’s buffering effect may operate by reducing exposure to household instability -- including the incidence of high levels of multidomain household instability and the use of parental care -- as well as parent–child relationship conflict.
Between-firm sorting and parenthood wage gaps in the US service sector
Charlotte O'Herron, Daniel Schneider & Kristen Harnett
Journal of Marriage and Family, forthcoming
Method: We draw on novel employer–employee matched data on 74,086 hourly service-sector workers to decompose parental wage gaps into their within- and between-firm components. We leverage uniquely rich data on compensating differentials to test if they sort parents across firms.
Results: We found that mothers are overrepresented in lower-wage firms, accounting for 68% of mothers' wage gap. In contrast, fathers' wage gap accrued within firms. We found limited evidence that compensating differentials, even schedule quality, produce parental wage gaps.
The Effects of Sun Intensity during Pregnancy and in the First 12 Months of Life on Childhood Obesity
Christian Dustmann, Malte Sandner & Uta Schönberg
Journal of Human Resources, November 2024, Pages 1683-1713
Abstract:
Obesity not only leads to immense medical costs associated with treating obesity-related illness but is also associated with lower employment prospects and earnings. This study shows that sunshine-induced vitamin D may have a preventive effect on obesity for children. We investigate the relation between sun intensity from pregnancy until infancy on obesity at age six, using population data of more than 600,000 children. Our findings show that the effects of sun intensity on subsequent obesity are concentrated in the first six months of life: 100 hours of additional sunshine over this period reduce overweight by 1.1 percent and severe obesity by 6.2 percent. We offer two main explanations for this pattern. First, infants’ vitamin D levels are particularly sensitive to sunshine in the first six months of life, when lactation is highest. Second, the first six months of life are a sensitive period for later obesity, as this is the period when infants rapidly gain weight, and adipose tissue develops.