Work

The effects of parental education on male mortality: evidence from the first wave of compulsory schooling laws

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper investigates the causal impact of fathers' education on sons' longevity by linking the full count 1940 US census to Social Security Administration death records and using the first wave of compulsory schooling laws from 1875 to 1912 as instruments for education. OLS estimates suggest small protective effects-conditional on children surviving until age 35, an extra year of fathers' education increases sons' age at death by 0.75 months. IV estimates are substantially larger, with an extra year of a father's education increasing his son's age at death by 5.6 months. We also find that an extra year of fathers' education increases sons' education by 0.22 years, conditional on children surviving till 16 years. This suggests that intergenerational transmission of human capital is a channel linking fathers' education to children's longevity. In addition, we find significant improvements in sons' occupational status associated with higher paternal education, indicating that occupational mobility is another important pathway through which parental education improves long-term health and longevity. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00148-025-01134-y.

Source: Journal of Population Economics

DOI: 10.1007/s00148-025-01134-y

Authors: Hamid Noghanibehambari, Vikesh Amin, Jason Fletcher

Institutions: Austin Peay State University, Central Michigan University, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Language: English

Topic: Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,190