Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers Creation-Date: 2006-12-19 Number: 06-109/3 Author-Name: Maarten Lindeboom Author-Email: mlindeboom@feweb.vu.nl Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Author-Name: Ana Llena Nozal Author-Email: anozal@feweb.vu.nl Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Author-Name: Bas van der Klaauw Author-Email: bklaauw@feweb.vu.nl Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Title: Parental Education and Child Health: Evidence from a Schooling Reform Abstract: This discussion paper led to a publication in the Journal of Health Economics (2009). Vol. 28, pages 109-131.

This paper investigates the impact of parental education on child health outcomes. To identify the causal effect we explore exogenous variation in parental education induced by a schooling reform in 1947, which raised the minimum school leaving age in the UK. Findings based on data from the National Child Development Study suggest that postponing the school leaving age by one year had little effect on the health of their offspring. Schooling did however improve economic opportunities by reducing financial difficulties among households. We conclude from this that the effects of parental income on child health are at most modest. Classification-JEL: I12; I28 Keywords: returns to education; intergenerational mobility; health; regression-discontinuity File-Url: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/06109.pdf File-Format: application/pdf File-Size: 200113 bytes Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20060109