Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 591-620 |
| Number of pages | 30 |
| Journal | Journal of population economics |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 12 Nov 2016 |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2017 |
Abstract
This paper estimates sibling correlations in cognitive and non-cognitive skills to evaluate the importance of family background for skill formation. Based on a large representative German dataset including IQ test scores and measures of non-cognitive skills, a restricted maximum likelihood model indicates a strong relationship between family background and skill formation. Sibling correlations in non-cognitive skills range from 0.22 to 0.46; therefore, at least one-fifth of the variance in these skills results from shared sibling-related factors. Sibling correlations in cognitive skills are higher than 0.50; therefore, more than half of the inequality in cognition can be explained by shared family background. Comparing these findings with those in the intergenerational skill transmission literature suggests that intergenerational correlations capture only part of the influence of family on children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills, as confirmed by decomposition analyses and in line with previous findings on educational and income mobility.
Keywords
- Cognitive skills, Family background, Intergenerational mobility, Non-cognitive skills, Sibling correlations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Demography
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all)
- Economics and Econometrics
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Journal of population economics, Vol. 30, No. 2, 04.2017, p. 591-620.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills, and family background
T2 - evidence from sibling correlations
AU - Anger, Silke
AU - Schnitzlein, Daniel D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
PY - 2017/4
Y1 - 2017/4
N2 - This paper estimates sibling correlations in cognitive and non-cognitive skills to evaluate the importance of family background for skill formation. Based on a large representative German dataset including IQ test scores and measures of non-cognitive skills, a restricted maximum likelihood model indicates a strong relationship between family background and skill formation. Sibling correlations in non-cognitive skills range from 0.22 to 0.46; therefore, at least one-fifth of the variance in these skills results from shared sibling-related factors. Sibling correlations in cognitive skills are higher than 0.50; therefore, more than half of the inequality in cognition can be explained by shared family background. Comparing these findings with those in the intergenerational skill transmission literature suggests that intergenerational correlations capture only part of the influence of family on children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills, as confirmed by decomposition analyses and in line with previous findings on educational and income mobility.
AB - This paper estimates sibling correlations in cognitive and non-cognitive skills to evaluate the importance of family background for skill formation. Based on a large representative German dataset including IQ test scores and measures of non-cognitive skills, a restricted maximum likelihood model indicates a strong relationship between family background and skill formation. Sibling correlations in non-cognitive skills range from 0.22 to 0.46; therefore, at least one-fifth of the variance in these skills results from shared sibling-related factors. Sibling correlations in cognitive skills are higher than 0.50; therefore, more than half of the inequality in cognition can be explained by shared family background. Comparing these findings with those in the intergenerational skill transmission literature suggests that intergenerational correlations capture only part of the influence of family on children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills, as confirmed by decomposition analyses and in line with previous findings on educational and income mobility.
KW - Cognitive skills
KW - Family background
KW - Intergenerational mobility
KW - Non-cognitive skills
KW - Sibling correlations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84994693970&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00148-016-0625-9
DO - 10.1007/s00148-016-0625-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84994693970
VL - 30
SP - 591
EP - 620
JO - Journal of population economics
JF - Journal of population economics
SN - 0933-1433
IS - 2
ER -