Birth timing and the intergenerational transmission of human capital

Palacios-Huerta, Ignacio (2024) Birth timing and the intergenerational transmission of human capital. Journal of Human Capital, 18 (1). 194 - 226. ISSN 1932-8575

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Abstract

Arbitrary age-cutoff dates used for eligibility in schooling and organized sports create differential opportunities for children that can have long-term consequences. These opportunities, in turn, provide incentives for birth-date targeting. I study a setting in which being born just after the cutoff date is highly advantageous relative to being born late in the eligibility year. Using an exogenous change in the cutoff date, I obtain causal evidence showing how birth timing at conception re-sponds to memory-based salient incentives: certain parents target birth dates to ensure that their children are among the oldest in the eligibility year.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jhc/current
Additional Information:	© 2024 The University of Chicago
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J13 - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
Date Deposited:	12 Apr 2024 09:12
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 04:08
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/122622

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