Parental and child time investments and the cognitive development of adolescents

While a lot of research has focused on the impact of parental investments on child cognitive development, very little is known about the role of the child’s own investments alongside that of the parents. MiSoC researcher Nicoletti with Del Boca and Monfardini (2017 JOLE) carry out the first analysis of the role of the child’s own time investments alongside that of the parents in explaining child’s cognitive skills. By using the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, they model the cognitive production function for adolescents using an augmented value-added model and adopt an estimation method that takes account of unobserved child characteristics. They find that a child’s own investments made during adolescence matter more than the mother’s.

They find that adolescent cognitive development seems to be affected much more by the child’s own time investments during adolescence than by the time invested during childhood. In contrast, maternal time investments during childhood matter more than during adolescence. This finding highlights the importance of self-investments during adolescence and suggests potential channels through which cognitive development can be influenced at later ages, such as policies using financial transfers to encourage student effort and educational activities.