Health Economics Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Health Econ. 2011 Oct;20(10):1201-25. doi: 10.1002/hec.1665. Epub 2010 Oct 13.
This study investigates the extent to which family income is associated with an extensive range of child cognitive and behavioural outcomes in a cohort of almost 19 000 British children born between 2000 and 2001. Merging the economists' and developmental psychologists' approaches, it also attempts to identify the main mechanisms through which family economic resources translate into better developmental outcomes for children. The relative and joint relevance of three groups of mediating factors (parental stress, parental investment and other family-related pathways), identified from the recent economic and psychological literature, are examined both in a cross-sectional ('mopping-up' approach) and in a panel data (fixed effects models) context. Results indicate a weak or absent direct effect of family economic resources on child development after controlling for potential mediating mechanisms. The study also identifies key mediating factors (e.g. maternal depression, a cognitively stimulating home environment, parenting practices and length of breastfeeding) that could be targeted by government initiatives in order to effectively improve children's intellectual development and behaviour beyond what income redistribution can achieve.
本研究调查了在一个由近 19000 名 2000 年至 2001 年间出生的英国儿童组成的队列中，家庭收入与儿童认知和行为结果广泛程度之间的关系。该研究融合了经济学家和发展心理学家的方法，还试图确定家庭经济资源转化为儿童更好发展结果的主要机制。从最近的经济学和心理学文献中确定的三组中介因素（父母压力、父母投资和其他与家庭相关的途径）的相对和共同相关性，在横断面（“清理”方法）和面板数据（固定效应模型）背景下进行了检验。结果表明，在控制潜在的中介机制后，家庭经济资源对儿童发展的直接影响较弱或不存在。该研究还确定了关键的中介因素（例如，母亲抑郁、认知刺激的家庭环境、育儿实践和母乳喂养时间），政府可以通过这些因素来有针对性地改善儿童的智力发展和行为，从而超越收入再分配所能实现的效果。
