Impact of Paternal Temporary Absence on Children Left Behind

30 Pages Posted: 15 Oct 2009

See all articles by Alison L. Booth

Alison L. Booth

Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Yuji Tamura

Department of Accounting, Data Analytics, Economics and Finance, La Trobe University; ANU Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University

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Abstract

Using the first two waves of the Vietnam Living Standards Survey, we investigate how a father's temporary absence affects children left behind in terms of their school attendance, household expenditures on education, and nonhousework labor supply in the 1990s. The estimating subsample is children aged 7-18 in households in which both parents usually coreside and the mother has not been absent. Our results indicate that paternal temporary absence increases nonhousework labor supply by his son. The longer the absence of the father, the larger the impact. One additional month of paternal temporary absence increases a son's nonhousework labor supply by approximately one week. However, a daughter's nonhousework labor supply is not affected. We find no evidence that paternal temporary absence influences his children in terms of school attendance or education-related household expenditures.

Keywords: parental absence, temporary migration, schooling, human capital investment, child labor, Vietnam, VLSS

JEL Classification: I22, O15, P36

Suggested Citation

Booth, Alison L. and Tamura, Yuji, Impact of Paternal Temporary Absence on Children Left Behind. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4381, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1489204 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1489204

Alison L. Booth (Contact Author)

Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia
+61 2 6125 3285 (Phone)
+61 2 6125 0182 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Yuji Tamura

Department of Accounting, Data Analytics, Economics and Finance, La Trobe University ( email )

Melbourne, VIC 3086
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/accounting-data-analytics-economics-and-finance

ANU Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University

Canberra, ACT 2600
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://rse.anu.edu.au/research/centre-economic-policy-research

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