Skip to main content

Family Socio-economic Status, Mother’s Psychosocial Skills, and Children’s Human Capital: Evidence from Four Low- and Middle-income Countries

  • Chapter
Growing Up in Poverty

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies on Children and Development ((PSCD))

Abstract

Family background has been considered one of most important factors associated with child development across different settings (Brooks-Gunn and Duncan 1997; Grantham-McGregor et al. 2007). Evidence from industrialized countries supports a strong link between different background factors, such as parental socio-economic status (SES), and parental cognitive and psychosocial skills on the one hand, and children’s cognitive and psychosocial skills on the other; these factors in turn are important determinants of educational achievement, earnings, and other key outcomes in later life (Osborne-Groves 2005a; Cunha et al. 2006; Blanden et al. 2007).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Almlund, Mathilde, Angela Duckworth, James Heckman and Tim Kautz (2011) Personality Psychology and Economics, IZA Discussion Paper No. 5500, Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Anger, Silke (2011) The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills During Adolescence and Young Adulthood, IZA Discussion Paper No. 5749, Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor

    Google Scholar 

  • Ardila, Alfredo, Monica Rosselli, Esmeralda Matute and Soledad Guajardo (2010) ‘The Influence of the Parent’s Educational Level on the Development of Executive Functions’, Developmental Neuropsychology 28.1: 539–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behrman, Jere (2010) ‘Investment in Education: Inputs and Incentives’, in Dani Rodrik and Mark Rosenzweig (eds) Handbook of Development Economics, vol. 5, Amsterdam: North-Holland

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanden, Jo, Paul Gregg and Lindsey Macmillan (2007) ‘Accounting for Intergenerational Income Persistence: Noncognitive Skills, Ability and Education’, Economic Journal 117.1: C43–C60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, Robert and Robert Corwyn (2002) ‘Socio-economic Status and Child Development’, Annual Review of Psychology 53: 371–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brock, Karen and Caroline Knowles (2012) ‘Doing Longitudinal Research: Opportunities and Challenges in a Study of Childhood’, in Jo Boyden and Michael Bourdillon (eds) Childhood Poverty: Multidisciplinary Approaches, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 15–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne and Greg Duncan (1997) ‘The Effects of Poverty on Children’, Future Child 7.2: 55–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, Paul and Robert McCrae (1994) ‘Set Like Plaster: Evidence for the Stability of Adult Personality’, in Todd Heatherton and Joel Weinberger (eds) Can Personality Change? Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

    Google Scholar 

  • Cueto, Santiago, Juan Leon, Gabriela Guerrero and Ismael Munoz (2009) Psychometric Characteristics of Cognitive Development and Achievement Instruments in Round 2 of Young Lives, Young Lives Technical Note 15, Oxford: Young Lives

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunha, Flavio and James Heckman (2007) ‘The Technology of Skill Formation’, American Economic Review 97.2: 31–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunha, Flavio, James Heckman, Lance Lochner and Dimitri Masterov (2006) ‘Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation’, in Eric Hanushek and Finis Welch (eds) Handbook of the Economics of Education, vol. 1, Amsterdam: North-Holland

    Google Scholar 

  • Currie, Janet (2009) ‘Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: Socio-economic Status, Poor Health in Childhood and Human Capital Development’, Journal of Economic Literature 47.1: 87–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dercon, Stefan and Pramila Krishnan (2009) ‘Poverty and the Psychosocial Competencies of Children: Evidence from the Young Lives Sample in Four Developing Countries’, Children, Youth and Environments 19.2: 1–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Dercon, Stefan and Alan Sanchez (2011) ‘Long-Term Implications of Under-Nutrition on Psychosocial Competencies: Evidence from Four Developing Countries’, Young Lives Working Paper 72, Oxford: Young Lives

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, Greg, Ariel Kalil, Susan Mayer, Robin Tepper and Monique Payne (2005) ‘The Apple Does Not Fall Far from the Tree’, in Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis and Melissa Osborne-Groves (eds) Unequal Chances: Family Background and Economic Success, Princeton: Princeton University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, Richard (1977) ‘Personal Traits and “Success” in Schooling and Work’, Educational and Psychological Measurement 37 1: 125–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernald, Lia, Lynette Neufeld, Lauren Barton, Lourdes Schnaas, Juan Rivera and Paul Gertler (2006) ‘Parallel Deficits in Linear Growth and Mental Development in Low-Income Mexican Infants in the Second Year of Life’, Public Health Nutrition 9.2: 178–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernald, Lia, Ann Weber, Emanuela Galasso and Lisy Rarsifandrihamanana (2011) ‘Socio-economic Gradients and Child Development in a Very Low Income Population: Evidence from Madagascar’, Developmental Science 14.4: 832–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Filer, Randall (1981) ‘The Influence of Affective Human Capital on the Wage Equation’, Research in Labor Economics 4: 367–416

    Google Scholar 

  • Filmer, Deon and Lant Pritchett (2001) ‘Estimating Effects Without Expenditure Data — Or Tears: An Application to Educational Enrollments in States of India’, Demography 38.1: 115–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, Victor (1993) ‘Poverty and Health: Asking the Right Questions’, in Eli Ginzberg and David Rogers (eds) Medical Care and the Health of the Poor, Boulder, CO: WestviewPress

    Google Scholar 

  • Glewwe, Paul and Edward Miguel (2008) ‘The Impact of Child Health and Nutrition on Education in Less Developed Countries’, in Paul Schultz and John Strauss (eds) Handbook of Development Economics, vol. 4, Amsterdam: North-Holland

    Google Scholar 

  • Grantham-McGregor, Sally, Yin Bun Cheung, Santiago Cueto, Paul Glewwe, Linda Richter, Barbara Strupp and the International Child Development Steering Group (2007) ‘Developmental Potential in the First 5 Years for Children in Developing Countries’, The Lancet 369: 60–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckman, James (2007) The Economics, Technology and Neuroscience of Human Capability Formation, IZA Discussion Paper No. 2875, Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labour

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Helmers, Christian and Manasa Patnam (2011) ‘The Formation and Evolution of Childhood Skill Acquisition: Evidence from India’, Journal of Development Economics 95.2: 252–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, Erica (2003) ‘The Specificity of Environmental Influence: Socio-economic Status Affects Early Vocabulary Development Via Maternal Speech’, Child Development 74.5: 1368–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jencks, Christopher (1979) Who Gets Ahead? The Determinants of Economic Success in America, New York: Basic Books

    Google Scholar 

  • Loehlin, John (2005) ‘Resemblance in Personality and Attitudes Between Parents and Their Children’, in Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis and Melissa Osborne-Groves (eds) Unequal Chances: Family Background and Economic Success, Princeton: Princeton University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, Susan, Greg Duncan and Kalil Ariel (2004) Like Mother Like Daughter? SES and the Intergenerational Correlation of Traits, Behaviors and Attitudes, Working Paper No. 415, Chicago, IL: Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne-Groves, Melissa (2005a) ‘Personality and the Intergenerational Transmission of Economic Status’, in Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis and Melissa Osborne-Groves (eds) Unequal Chances: Family Background and Economic Success, Princeton: Princeton University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne-Groves, Melissa (2005b) ‘How Important is Your Personality? Labor Market Returns to Personality for Women in the US and the UK’, Journal of Economic Psychology 26: 827–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Outes-Leon, Ingo, Alan Sanchez and Oswaldo Molinas (2010) ‘Psychosocial Status and Cognitive Achievement in Peru’, Working Paper 65, Oxford: Young Lives

    Google Scholar 

  • Paxson, Christina and Norbert Schady (2007) ‘Cognitive Development Among Young Children in Ecuador: The Roles of Wealth, Health and Parenting’, Journal of Human Resources 42.1: 49–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig, Mark and Kenneth Wolpin (1994) ‘Are There Increasing Returns to the Intergenerational Production of Human Capital? Maternal Schooling and Child Intellectual Achievement’, Journal of Human Resources 29.2: 670–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schady, Norbert (2011) ‘Parent’s Education, Mother’s Vocabulary, and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood: Longitudinal Evidence from Ecuador’, American Journal of Public Health 101.12: 2299–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woldehanna, Tassew, Retta Gudisa, Yisak Tafere and Alula Pankhurst (2011) Understanding Changes in the Lives of Poor Children: Initial Findings from Ethiopia Round 3 Survey, Young Lives Country Report, Oxford: Young Lives

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2014 Andreas Georgiadis and Priscila Hermida

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Georgiadis, A., Hermida, P. (2014). Family Socio-economic Status, Mother’s Psychosocial Skills, and Children’s Human Capital: Evidence from Four Low- and Middle-income Countries. In: Bourdillon, M., Boyden, J. (eds) Growing Up in Poverty. Palgrave Studies on Children and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137404039_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics