Does Family Structure Affect Childrens Educational Outcomes?
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@MISC{And_doesfamily,
author = {Donna Ginther And and Donna K. Ginther and Robert A. Pollak and Irwin Garfinkel and James Heckman and Sara Mclanahan and Gary S and Robert Willis For},
title = {Does Family Structure Affect Childrens Educational Outcomes?},
year = {}
}
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Abstract
It is well-known that children reared in single parent families are likely to have less favorable educational outcomes than children reared in two-parent families. For example, adults who were reared in single parent families are less likely to complete high school, and children from single parent families have lower reading comprehension. In this paper we present some evidence that the correlations between family structure and educational outcomes may reflect selection rather than causation. We use two data sets and two distinct approaches. Using data on young adult siblings from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we examine the relationship between family structure and four schooling outcomes (e.g., high school graduation). Using data on children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY-Child), we examine the relationship between family structure and four child assessment outcomes (e.g., reading comprehension). If family structure were randomly assigned and there were no omitted variables, then cross-section methods would provide estimates of the underlying causal relationships. Using cross-section methods, we find, as others have, that growing up with a single parent or stepparent is negatively correlated with educational outcomes. Because family structure is not randomly assigned, we do not rely on crosssection methods. We exploit the sibling structure in the NLSY and NLSY-Child to control for unobserved heterogeneity across families and individuals. We compare assessment outcomes for children within the same family--stepchildren with their halfsiblings in the same blended family who are the biological children of both parents. Using panel data methods to control for unobserved heterogeneity across families, we find that family structure effec...
Keyphrases
family structure single parent family unobserved heterogeneity educational outcome national longitudinal survey cross-section method panel data method high school graduation crosssection method causal relationship single parent biological child sibling structure child assessment outcome family stepchild favorable educational outcome young adult sibling assessment outcome omitted variable distinct approach reading comprehension data set schooling outcome high school family structure effec two-parent family
