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Does Family Structure Affect Children's Educational Outcomes?

Author

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  • Donna K. Ginther
  • Robert A. Pollak
Abstract
This paper makes two contributions. First, it adds to the growing literature describing correlations between children's educational outcomes and family structure. Although popular discussions focus on the distinction between two-parent families and single-parent families, McLanahan and Sandefur [1994] show that outcomes for stepchildren are similar to outcomes for children in single-parent families. McLanahan and Sandefur describe their results as showing that the crucial distinction is between children who were reared by both biological parents and children who were not. This description is misleading. This paper shows that educational outcomes for both types of children in blended families -- stepchildren and their half-siblings who are the joint biological children of both parents -- are similar to each other and substantially worse than outcomes for children reared in traditional nuclear families. We conclude that, as a description of the data, the crucial distinction is between children reared in traditional nuclear families (i.e., families in which all children are the joint biological children of both parents) and children reared in other family structures (e.g., single-parent families or blended families). The paper's second contribution is to clarify the question, What is the effect of family structure on outcomes for children?' Interpreted literally, the question asks about the effect of one endogenous variable on another. We argue for reformulating the family structure question by specifying some explicit counterfactual, and express a preference for a policy-relevant counterfactual. As an example, we suggest considering the effect of reducing the marriage penalty' in the earned-income tax credit (EITC) that makes the credit essentially unavailable to two-earner couples. The EITC marriage penalty counterfactual, like any policy-relevant counterfactual, focuses attention on outcomes for those children whose parent's behavior is affected by the incentives created by the policy change.

Suggested Citation

  • Donna K. Ginther & Robert A. Pollak, 2003. "Does Family Structure Affect Children's Educational Outcomes?," NBER Working Papers 9628, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9628
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    Cited by:

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    2. Angela R. Fertig, 2004. "Is Intergenerational Earnings Mobility Affected by Divorce?," Working Papers 953, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    3. Winkelmann, Rainer, 2003. "Parental Separation and Well-Being of Youths," IZA Discussion Papers 894, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Winkelmann, Rainer, 2006. "Parental separation and well-being of youths: Evidence from Germany," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 197-208, April.
    5. Hyunjoon Park, 2008. "Effects of single parenthood on educational aspiration and student disengagement in Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 18(13), pages 377-408.
    6. Marianne P. Bitler & Jonah B. Gelbach & Hilary W. Hoynes, 2006. "Welfare Reform and Children's Living Arrangements," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(1).
    7. Meng, Xin & Yamauchi, Chikako, 2015. "Children of Migrants: The Impact of Parental Migration on Their Children's Education and Health Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 9165, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Peter Frauke H. & Spiess C. Katharina, 2016. "Family Instability and Locus of Control in Adolescence," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 16(3), pages 1439-1471, September.
    9. Constant, Amelie F. & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2003. "Occupational Choice Across Generations," IZA Discussion Papers 975, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Björklund, Anders & Sundström, Marianne, 2002. "Parental Separation and Children's Educational Attainment: A Siblings Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 643, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Xin Meng & Chikako Yamauchi, 2015. "Children of Migrants: The Cumulative Impact of Parental Migration on their Children's Education and Health Outcomes," GRIPS Discussion Papers 15-07, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    12. Philippe Mahler & Rainer Winkelmann, 2004. "Secondary School Track Selection of Single-Parent Children � Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel," SOI - Working Papers 0415, Socioeconomic Institute - University of Zurich, revised Oct 2005.
    13. Mohanty, Madhu S. & Ullah, Aman, 2012. "Direct and indirect effects of happiness on wage: A simultaneous equations approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 143-152.
    14. Mahler, Philippe & Winkelmann, Rainer, 2004. "Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal Educational Opportunities: Evidence for Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 1391, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Yuxin Li & Karen Mumford, "undated". "Aspirations, Expectations and Education Outcomes for Children in Britain: Considering Relative Measures of Family Efficiency," Discussion Papers 09/26, Department of Economics, University of York.
    16. Kan, Kamhon & Tsai, Wei-Der, 2005. "Parenting practices and children's education outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 29-43, February.
    17. John Ermisch, 2003. "How Do Parents Affect the Life Chances of Their Children as Adults? An Idiosyncratic Review," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 101, McMaster University.
    18. Anders Björklund & Marianne Sundström, 2006. "Parental Separation and Children's Educational Attainment: A Siblings Analysis on Swedish Register Data," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 73(292), pages 605-624, November.
    19. Kevin Denny, 2004. "Born to be wild? The Effect of Birth Order, Families and Schools on Truancy," Working Papers 200421, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    20. Ribar, David C., 2004. "What Do Social Scientists Know About the Benefits of Marriage? A Review of Quantitative Methodologies," IZA Discussion Papers 998, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Björklund, Anders & Ginther, Donna K. & Sundström, Marianne, 2004. "Family Structure and Child Outcomes in the United States and Sweden," IZA Discussion Papers 1259, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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