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on Demographic Economics |
| By: | Sanny B. D. Afable (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Júlia Mikolai (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Megan Evans (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Kaarina Korhonen; Yana C. Vierboom (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Pekka Martikainen (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Hill Kulu (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Mikko Myrskylä (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Geographic proximity facilitates contact and support between ageing parents and their adult children. While previous research has examined changes in living arrangements when parents age and become ill, little is known about how proximity to children itself is associated with their health and survival. This study examines how the distance between parents aged 60-85 and their adult children influences parents’ mortality in Finland. Using novel multigenerational data from the Finnish population register, we estimate discrete-time survival models for the associations of co-residence and proximity to children with parental mortality. Co-residence with children is associated with substantially lower mortality risks only among spouseless fathers, while living close to non-coresident children is linked to lower mortality among spouseless mothers and fathers. Children’s gender plays a limited role., However, close proximity to daughters is associated with lower mortality among spouseless mothers. Our findings suggest that living close to children matters for parents’ longevity when there is no spouse to provide support. |
| Keywords: | Finland, ageing, family, gerontology, health, spatial distance, survival, value of children |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2026-013 |
| By: | Meltem Daysal; Hui Ding; Maya Rossin-Slater; Hannes Schwandt |
| Abstract: | Preschool-aged children get sick frequently and spread disease to other family members. Despite the universality of this experience, there is limited causal evidence on the magnitudes and consequences of these externalities, especially for infant siblings with developing immune systems and brains. We use Danish administrative data to document that, before age one, younger siblings have 2-3 times higher hospitalization rates for respiratory conditions than older siblings. We combine birth order and within-municipality variation in respiratory disease prevalence among young children, and find lasting differential impacts of early-life respiratory disease exposure on younger siblings' earnings, educational attainment, chronic respiratory health and mental health-related outcomes. |
| Keywords: | respiratory illness, childhood sickness, externalities, long-term human capital impacts |
| JEL: | I1 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2556 |
| By: | CATTAN, SaRAH (IFS); Conti, Gabriella (University College London); Farquharson, Christine (IFS) |
| Abstract: | Early childhood programmes frequently lose effectiveness at scale, yet the role of the workforce remains poorly understood. We document substantial heterogeneity in workforce effectiveness in England's national home-visiting programme for first-time teenage mothers, despite a highly-structured curriculum and well-qualified staff. Exploiting quasi-random assignment of mothers to family nurses, we estimate that a one standard deviation increase in workforce effectiveness raises children's cognitive and socio-emotional development by 0.20-0.23 SD. Structural quality - observable worker characteristics - does not predict effectiveness, but process quality - how visits are delivered - does. Greater effectiveness is linked with improvements in maternal mental health and risk behaviours. |
| Keywords: | early childhood development, home visiting, workforce quality, process quality, scaling, Family Nurse Partnership |
| JEL: | I18 I38 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18584 |
| By: | Rita Dias Pereira (NOVA University Lisbon); Hans van Kippersluis (Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper exploits molecular genetic data to quantify genetic confounding in parent-child educational outcomes. We develop a model of the intergenerational transmission of education based on insights from the literature on social science genetics. The model distinguishes between two types of genetic confounding. First, narrow genetic confounding reflects the direct transmission of genetic predisposition towards education. Second, broad genetic confounding captures direct genetic transmission as well as genetic nurture, i.e., an influence of parental genes on children's outcome through the family environment. Next, we use the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) data to decompose the association between parental years of education and their offspring's grades on Key Stage 4 national exams. To proxy genetic endowments, we construct Educational Attainment Polygenic Indices (EA PGIs) for parents and children. To correct for measurement error, we use Obviously-Related Instrumental Variables (ORIV) based on two independent PGIs. The results suggest that `broad genetic confounding' explains 30-45% of the parent-child educational association, and `narrow genetic confounding' 18-33%. We find no meaningful differences between mothers and fathers. Using our model, we compare our estimates to twin and adoptee designs, and show how molecular genetic approaches can recover both broad and narrow genetic confounding under plausibly weaker assumptions and with arguably greater external validity. |
| Keywords: | ALSPAC, Education, Intergenerational Mobility, Polygenic Index, Genetic endowments |
| JEL: | I24 J62 |
| Date: | 2025–09–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250057 |