Human capital spillovers in families: Do parents learn from or lean on their children?

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27 Scopus citations

Abstract

I model how children’s acquisition of a given form of human capital incentivizes adults in their household to either learn from them (if children can teach the skill to adults, adults’ cost of learning falls) or lean on them (if children’s human capital substitutes for that of adults in household production, adults’ benefit from learning falls). Using variation in compliance with an English-immersion mandate in California schools, I find that English instruction improved immigrant children’s English proficiency but discouraged adults living with them from acquiring the language. Whether family members “learn” or “lean” affects the externalities associated with education policies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)755-786
Number of pages32
JournalJournal of Labor Economics
Volume32
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2014
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Industrial relations
  • Economics and Econometrics

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