School of Economics, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 111 Wuchuan Road, Shanghai 200433, China.
J Health Econ. 2019 Jul;66:222-240. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2019.06.004. Epub 2019 Jun 14.
Intergenerational transmission of human capital from parents to offspring is widely documented. However, whether there are upward spillovers from children to parents remains understudied. This paper uses data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study to estimate the causal impact of educational attainment of children on various health and cognition outcomes of older parents. Identification is achieved by using the exposure of children to the compulsory education law in China and its interaction with local schooling level before law enforcement as instruments for children's years of schooling. IV estimation results demonstrate that increasing years of education of children lead to better cognitive functions, higher survival expectations and improved lung function of Chinese older parents. Further evidence suggests that children's education might shape health of older parents by providing financial support, affecting the access to resources and influencing the labor supply and psychological well-being of parents.
代际人力资本传递，即父母向子女传递人力资本，已被广泛证实。然而，子女对父母是否存在向上溢出效应仍研究不足。本文利用中国健康与养老追踪调查数据，采用中国义务教育法的实施及其与实施前当地教育水平的交互作用作为子女受教育年限的工具变量，估计了子女受教育程度对老年父母健康和认知结果的因果影响。实证结果表明，增加子女的受教育年限会提高中国老年父母的认知功能、生存预期和肺功能。进一步的证据表明，子女的教育可能通过提供经济支持、影响资源获取以及影响父母的劳动供给和心理健康来塑造老年父母的健康。
