You are here:

Short-run effects of parental job loss on children's academic achievement
ARTICLE

,

Economics of Education Review Volume 30, Number 2 ISSN 0272-7757 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

Abstract

We study the relationship between parental job loss and children's academic achievement using data on job loss and grade retention from the 1996, 2001, and 2004 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. We find that a parental job loss increases the probability of children's grade retention by 0.8 percentage points, or around 15%. After conditioning on child fixed effects, there is no evidence of significantly increased grade retention prior to the job loss, suggesting a causal link running from the parental employment shock to children's academic difficulties.

Citation

Stevens, A.H. & Schaller, J. Short-run effects of parental job loss on children's academic achievement. Economics of Education Review, 30(2), 289-299. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved August 8, 2022 from .

This record was imported from Economics of Education Review on March 1, 2019. Economics of Education Review is a publication of Elsevier.

Full text is availabe on Science Direct: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.10.002

Keywords

References

View References & Citations Map
  1. Amato, P., & Keith, B. (1991). Parental divorce and the well-being of children: A meta-analysis . Psychological Bulletin, 110, pp. 26-46.
  2. Babcock, P., & Bedard, K. (2010). The wages of failure: New evidence on school retention and long-run outcomes. Working paper. UC Santa Barbara.
  3. Black, S.E., Devereux, P.J., & Salvanes, K.G. (2005). Why the apple doesn’t fall far: Understanding the intergenerational transmission of education . American Economic Review, 95, pp. 437-449.
  4. Charles, K., & Stephens, M. (2004). Job displacement, disability, and divorce . Journal of Labor Economics, 22(2), pp. 489-522.
  5. Coelli, M.B. (2005). Parental income shocks and the education attendance of youth. University of Melbourne, Department of Economics. Working Paper.
  6. Corman, H. (2003). The effects of state policies, individual characteristics, family characteristics, and neighbourhood characteristics on grade repetition in the United States . Economics of Education Review, 22, pp. 409-420.
  7. Dehejia, R., & Lleras-Muney, A. (2004). Booms, busts, and babies’ health . Quarterly Journal of Economics, 119(3), pp. 1091-1130.
  8. Eide, E.R., & Showalter, M.H. (2001). The effect of grade retention on educational and labor market outcomes . Economics of Education Review, 20, pp. 364-576.
  9. Holmes, C.T., & Matthews, K.M. (1984). The effects of nonpromotion on elementary and junior high pupils: A meta-analysis . Review of Educational Research, 54, pp. 225-255.
  10. Jacob, B.A., & Lefgren, L. (2009). The effect of grade retention on high school completion . American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3), pp. 33-58.
  11. Jacobson, L.S., LaLonde, R.J., & Sullivan, D.G. (1993). Earnings losses of displaced workers . The American Economic Review, Vol.83, pp. 685-709.
  12. Kalil, A., & Ziol-Guest, K.M. (2008). Parental employment circumstances and children's academic progress . Social Science Research, 37, pp. 500-515.
  13. McCoy, A.R., & Reynolds, A.J. (1994). Grade retention and school performance: An extended investigation. Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Paper, University of Wisconsin.
  14. McLanahan, S. (1983). Family structure and stress: A longitudinal comparison of two-parent and female-headed families . Journal of Marriage and Family, 45, pp. 347-357.
  15. Oreopoulos, P., Page, M.E., & Stevens, A.H. (2006). The intergenerational effects of compulsory schooling . Journal of Labor Economics, 24, pp. 729-760.
  16. Oreopoulos, P., Page, M.E., & Stevens, A.H. (2008). The intergenerational effects of worker displacement . Journal of Labor Economics, 26, pp. 455-483.
  17. Rege, M., Telle, K., & Votruba, M. (2008). Parental job loss and children's school performance. Working paper. University of Stavanger.
  18. Ruhm, C. (1991). Are workers permanently scarred by job displacements? . American Economic Review, 81, pp. 319-324.
  19. Ruhm, C. (2000). Are recessions good for your health? . Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(2), pp. 617-650.
  20. Ruhm, C. (2007). A healthy economy can break your heart . Demography, 44(4), pp. 829-848.
  21. Stevens, A.H. (1997). Persistent effects of job displacement: The importance of multiple job losses . Journal of Labor Economics, 15, pp. 165-188.
  22. Sullivan, D.G., & von Wachter, T. (2009). Job displacement and mortality: An analysis using administrative data . Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(3), pp. 1265-1306.

These references have been extracted automatically and may have some errors. Signed in users can suggest corrections to these mistakes.

Suggest Corrections to References