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Title: Does Family Structure Affect Children's Educational Outcomes?
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Ginther, Donna K.
Pollak, Robert A.
Does Family Structure Affect Children's Educational Outcomes?
Presented: Atlanta, GA, Population Association of America Annual Meetings, May 2002
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Family Structure; Household Composition; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Siblings

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper we estimate a statistical model of intra-household allocation of human capital that controls for family structure and uses data from the NLSY79, NLSY79-Child, and PSID. Our analysis begins with estimates of the effect of family structure on children's educational outcomes assuming family structure is exogenously assigned. Next, we exploit the sibling structure in the data to control for unobserved heterogeneity across families using family fixed effects. Finally, we compare educational outcomes for stepchildren and their half-siblings in the same blended family who are the biological children of both parents. As additional variables are added to the specification, family structure effects attenuate. Using fixed effects estimates, we find that family structure effects are statistically insignificant. Comparing half-siblings in our data, we find no difference in educational outcomes as a function of family structure.
Bibliography Citation
Ginther, Donna K. and Robert A. Pollak. "Does Family Structure Affect Children's Educational Outcomes?" Presented: Atlanta, GA, Population Association of America Annual Meetings, May 2002.