Why Do Educated Mothers Matter? A Model of Parental Help

21 Pages Posted: 31 Jan 2011

See all articles by Luciano Canova

Luciano Canova

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM); Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Economics, Psychology & Social Sciences (CISEPS)

Alessandro Vaglio

University of Bergamo

Date Written: 2010

Abstract

This paper investigates the role performed by mothers in affecting their childrens' performance at school. The article develops firstly a theoretical model in which household (parent-child pair) is treated as an individual, whose utility depends both on the performance at school of the student and on consumption. The model focuses on the different possibilities through which help of mothers may affect pupil's performance both in terms of time devoted to supervision and spillover effects. Empirical evidence then, using PISA 2006 and focusing on Italian case, shows that education of mothers is an issue when interacted with her occupational status. Highly educated mothers have a positive impact on students' score only when they are highly qualified in the job market.

Keywords: education, PISA, quantile regressions, parental help

JEL Classification: J12, J21, J24

Suggested Citation

Canova, Luciano and Vaglio, Alessandro, Why Do Educated Mothers Matter? A Model of Parental Help (2010). Economics Discussion Paper No. 2010-29, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1749122 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1749122

Luciano Canova (Contact Author)

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) ( email )

C.so Magenta 63
Milano, 20123
Italy

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Economics, Psychology & Social Sciences (CISEPS) ( email )

Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1
Milano, 20126
Italy

Alessandro Vaglio

University of Bergamo ( email )

Via Salvecchio, 19
Bergamo, 24129
Italy

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