| By: |
Bartling, Björn (University of Zurich);
Fehr, Ernst (University of Zurich);
Schunk, Daniel (University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: |
The formation of human capital is important for a society’s welfare and
economic success. Recent literature shows that child health can provide an
important explanation for disparities in children's human capital development
across different socio-economic groups. While this literature focuses on
cognitive skills as determinants of human capital, it neglects non-cognitive
skills. We analyze data from economic experiments with preschoolers and their
mothers to investigate whether child health can explain developmental gaps in
children's non-cognitive skills. Our measure for children's non-cognitive
skills is their willingness to compete with others. Our findings suggest that
health problems are negatively related to children's willingness to compete
and that the effect of health on competitiveness differs with socio-economic
background. Health has a strongly negative effect in our sub-sample with low
socioeconomic background, whereas there is no effect in our sub-sample with
high socio-economic background. |
| Keywords: |
willingness to compete, non-cognitive skills, human capital, health, household survey studies |
| JEL: |
C90 I10 J24 |
| Date: |
2011–05 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5740&r=neu |