Childhood Family Structure and Schooling Outcomes: Evidence for Germany

Arbeitspapier

We analyse the impact on schooling outcomes of growing up in a family headed by a single mother. Growing up in a non-intact family in Germany is associated with worse outcomes in models that do not control for possible correlations between common unobserved determinants of family structure and educational performance. But once endogeneity is accounted for, whether by using sibling-difference estimators or two types of quasi-experiments, the evidence that family structure affects schooling outcomes is much less conclusive. Although almost all the point estimates indicate that non-intactness has an adverse effect on schooling outcomes, confidence intervals are large and span zero.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: DIW Discussion Papers ; No. 610

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation ; Single Equation Models; Single Variables: Panel Data Models; Spatio-temporal Models ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse ; Analysis of Education
• Subject: Childhood family structure ; lone parenthood ; educational success ; sibling differences ; instrumental variables ; treatment effects ; Familie ; Alleinerziehende ; Kinder ; Schule ; Bildungsverhalten ; Bildungsabschluss ; Vergleich ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Francesconi, Marco ; Jenkins, Stephen P. ; Siedler, Thomas
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW)
• (where): Berlin
• (when): 2006

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/18503
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:47 AM CET