Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal EducationalOpportunities: Evidence for Germany

Philippe Mahler () and Rainer Winkelmann
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Philippe Mahler: Socioeconomic Institute, University of Zurich

No 512, SOI - Working Papers from Socioeconomic Institute - University of Zurich

Abstract: We examine the effect of single motherhood on childrenï¿½s secondary school track choice using 12-year-old children drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel. In line with previous studies for the U.S., the U.K. and Sweden, we find a negative correlation between single motherhood and childrenï¿½s educational attainment. Looking for alternative explanations for this correlation, we use probit regression models to control for factors related to single motherhood such as higher educational background, lower household income and higher labor supply of the mother. Our evidence suggests that single motherhood reduces school attainment mainly because it is associated with lower resources (household income) available for the child.

Keywords: school choice; educational attainment; binary response model; German Socio-Economic Panel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2005-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-eec, nep-hrm and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/52207/1/wp0512.pdf First version, 2005 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal Educational Opportunities: Evidence for Germany (2004)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:soz:wpaper:0512

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