Maternal education and child health : Causal evidence from Denmark

• This study examines how maternal education shapes the life and health of their children. Causal effects are identified from a Danish school reform that increased minimum compulsory schooling from 7 to 9 years in 1972 and estimates are based on large administrative registers. We find that the reform as well as maternal education when instrumented by it, has significant, positive effects on mothers age at first birth and maternal health. Nevertheless, maternal education has no systematic causal effects on child health, neither at birth, during childhood, or in adolescence. This null finding is robust to a wide range of model specifications.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Intergenerational transmission; Returns to education; Health; Compulsory schooling reform

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)