The Impact of Child Health and Family Inputs on Child Cognitive Develop-Ment

37 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2000 Last revised: 15 May 2022

See all articles by Robert Kaestner

Robert Kaestner

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy

Hope Corman

Rider University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: September 1995

Abstract

In this paper we extensively analyze the impact of child health and other family characteristics on the cognitive achievement of children between the ages of five and nine. We estimate both cross sectional and fixed effects models using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Several of our results challenge the conclusions found in the existing literature. First, we find only a weak relationship between several measures of child health and child cognitive development. Second, we find that additional maternal schooling does not improve child cognitive achievement. Finally, our estimates of the effect of mother's labor force participation suggest that working has a positive impact on child cognitive achievement.

Suggested Citation

Kaestner, Robert and Kaestner, Robert and Corman, Hope, The Impact of Child Health and Family Inputs on Child Cognitive Develop-Ment (September 1995). NBER Working Paper No. w5257, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=225321

Robert Kaestner (Contact Author)

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Hope Corman

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