Changing Families: Family Relationships, Parental Decisions, and Child Development

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chan, Marc K.; Liu, Kai
• 署名单位: University of Melbourne; University of Cambridge
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/732520
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: S399-S444
• 关键词: cognitive achievement; care choices; instability; MODEL; PARTICIPATION; performance; TECHNOLOGY; STABILITY; divorce; support

摘要

We develop a tractable economic framework to study the impact of family structure on children's cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. Combining a sequential choice model with panel data on both biological parents, irrespective of subsequent relationship status, and on social fathers and a set of exclusion restrictions, we identify the unobserved heterogeneity of biological families and examine child skill formation via a control function approach. Time investments made by high-ability fathers have positive returns, whereas those made by low-ability fathers can generate negative returns. Policies that incentivize family formation should consider the quality of the fathers whom mothers are cohabited with.