Motherhood Delay and the Human Capital of the Next Generation

32 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2008 Last revised: 27 Jul 2009

See all articles by Amalia R. Miller

Amalia R. Miller

University of Virginia - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: October 24, 2008

Abstract

This paper exploits biological fertility shocks as instrumental variables to estimate the causal effect of motherhood delay on the cognitive ability of the next generation. Using detailed panel data on women in the NLSY79 and their first-born children aged 5 to 14, we find that a year of delay leads to significant increases in math and reading scores: a 7 year delay produces gains on par with the black-white score difference. These results reveal a potential weakness of pro-natalist policies that promote early motherhood. While such policies may succeed at increasing total period fertility rates, they will be less effective at increasing total human capital.

Keywords: motherhood delay; fertility incentives; human capital development

JEL Classification: J13, J18, J24

Suggested Citation

Miller, Amalia R., Motherhood Delay and the Human Capital of the Next Generation (October 24, 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1079832 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1079832

Amalia R. Miller (Contact Author)

University of Virginia - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 400182
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4182
United States

HOME PAGE: http://people.virginia.edu/~am5by/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
330
Abstract Views
2,405
Rank
167,196
PlumX Metrics