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Intergenerational Persistence of Health in the U.S.: Do Immigrants Get Healthier as they Assimilate?

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  • Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude
  • Kugler, Adriana D.
Abstract
It is well known that a substantial part of income and education is passed on from parents to children, generating substantial persistence in socio-economic status across generations. In this paper, we examine whether another form of human capital, health, is also largely transmitted from generation to generation, contributing to limited socio-economic mobility. Using data from the NLSY, we first present new evidence on intergenerational transmission of health outcomes in the U.S., including weight, height, the body mass index (BMI), asthma and depression for both natives and immigrants. We show that both native and immigrant children inherit a prominent fraction of their health status from their parents, and that, on average, immigrants experience higher persistence than natives in weight and BMI. We also find that mothers’ education decreases children’s weight and BMI for natives, while single motherhood increases weight and BMI for both native and immigrant children. Finally, we find that the longer immigrants remain in the U.S., the less intergenerational persistence there is and the more immigrants look like native children. Unfortunately, the more generations immigrant families remain in the U.S., the more children of immigrants resemble natives’ higher weights, higher BMI and increased propensity to suffer from asthma.

Suggested Citation

  • Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude & Kugler, Adriana D., 2016. "Intergenerational Persistence of Health in the U.S.: Do Immigrants Get Healthier as they Assimilate?," MPRA Paper 69711, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:69711
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    Cited by:

    1. Kumar, Santosh & Nahlen, Bernard, 2023. "Intergenerational persistence of health: Evidence from India," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    2. Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude & Yuksel, Mutlu, 2017. "Heterogeneity in the long term health effects of warfare," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 27(PA), pages 126-136.
    3. Jason Fletcher & Katie M. Jajtner, 2021. "Intergenerational health mobility: Magnitudes and Importance of Schools and Place," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(7), pages 1648-1667, July.
    4. Barbieri, Paolo Nicola, 2016. "The heterogeneity in immigrants unhealthy assimilation," MPRA Paper 71560, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Kim, Young-Joo & Daly, Vincent, 2019. "The Education Gradient in Health: The Case of Obesity in the UK and US," Economics Discussion Papers 2019-4, School of Economics, Kingston University London.
    6. Barbieri, Paolo Nicola & Nguyen, Hieu M., 2021. "When in America, do as the Americans? The evolution of health behaviors and outcomes across immigrant cohorts," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    7. Shahnaz Sheibani & Rumaya Juhari & Majid Yoosefi Looyeh, 2020. "Moderating Role of Acculturation and School Type on Association between Parenting Style and Positive Psychological Development among Iranian Adolescents in Malaysia," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(1), pages 1-32, March.
    8. David Figlio & Umut Özek, 2020. "Cross-Generational Differences in Educational Outcomes in the Second Great Wave of Immigration," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(4), pages 648-674, Fall.
    9. Vilar-Compte, Mireya & Teruel, Graciela & Flores, Diana & García-Appendini, Ida C. & Ochoa-Lagunas, Adriana, 2020. "A longitudinal study of height gaps among Mexican children: Disparities and social inequity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    10. Halliday, Timothy & Mazumder, Bhashkar & Wong, Ashley, 2021. "Intergenerational mobility in self-reported health status in the US," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    11. George J. Borjas & David J.G. Slusky, 2018. "Health, Employment, and Disability: Implications from the Undocumented Population," NBER Working Papers 24504, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Kaushal, Neeraj & Wang, Julia Shu-Huah & Huang, Xiaoning, 2018. "State dream acts and education, health and mental health of Mexican young adults in the U.S," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 138-149.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human Health; United States; Immigrants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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