Mortality Risks, Health Endowments, and Parental Investments in Infancy: Evidence from Rural India

This paper examines whether increased background mortality risks induce households to make differential health investments in their high- versus low-endowment children. We argue that increases in background mortality risks may disproportionately affect the survival of the low-endowment sibling, consequently increasing the mortality gap between the high- and low-endowment siblings. This increase in mortality gap may induce households to investment more in their high endowment children. We test this hypothesis using nationally representative data from rural India. We use birth size as a measure of initial health endowment, immunization & breastfeeding as measures of childhood investments and infant mortality rate in the child’s village as a measure of mortality risks. We find that in villages with high mortality risks, small-at-birth children in a family are 6 - 17 percent less likely to be breastfed or immunized compared to their large-at-birth siblings. In contrast, we find no significant within family differences in investments in villages with low mortality risks.

What can go wrong will go wrong: Birthday effects and early tracking in the German school system

At the age of ten German pupils are given a secondary school track recommendation which largely determines the actual track choice. Track choice has major effects on the life course, mainly through labor market outcomes. Using data from the German PISA extension study, we analyze the effect of month of birth and thus relative age on such recommendations. We find that younger pupils are less often recommended to and actually attend Gymnasium, the most attractive track in terms of later life outcomes. Flexible enrolment and grade retention partly offset these inequalities and the relative age effect dissipates as students age

Metropolitan Area Food Prices and Children’s Weight Gain

Overweight among children has increased rapidly over the past two decades. According to growth charts of the Center for Disease Control, the average weight gain of children throughout the United States now exceeds the desirable norm. The trend has raised concerns about children’s diets and physical activity. A prevalent belief is that characteristics of the local food supply, such as the affordability of fresh produce and the density of food markets and restaurants, are associated with children’s diet and weight gain. However, there has been little empirical evidence. This study investigates these issues and finds an association between the relative cost of fruits and vegetables and excessive weight gain by elementary-age children

Do reductions in class size "crowd out" parental investment in education?

We use panel data from the kindergarten and 1st grade waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Class to investigate whether increases in schooling inputs in the form of smaller classes "crowd out" parental inputs. We estimate child fixed-effect and fixed-effect-instrumental-variable models to identify the causal effects of class size on three types of parental involvement--parent--child interactions, parent-school interaction, and parent-financed activities for children. Our results suggest that increases in class size are associated with a decrease in parent-child interaction, no change in parent-school interaction, but an increase in parent-financed activities. The magnitude of these effects is between 3% and 7% of a standard deviation. Controlling for parental involvement in test score regressions does not change the achievement effects of class size, suggesting that the benefits of class size reduction are unlikely to be neutralized by adjustments in parental inputs, at least during the first 2 years in school.Human capital Educational economics

Heterogeneity in COVID-19 vaccine uptake within low-income minority communities: evidence from the watts neighborhood health study

Abstract Background The literature on disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake focuses primarily on the differences between White versus non-White individuals or differences by socioeconomic status. Much less is known about disparities in vaccine uptake within low-income, minority communities and its correlates. Methods This study investigates disparities in COVID-19 vaccination uptake within racial and ethnic minoritized communities with similar socioeconomic backgrounds and built environments, specifically focusing on Black-Hispanic disparities and disparities within the Hispanic community by country of origin. Data are analyzed from the fourth wave (June 2021- May 2022) of the Watts Neighborhood Health Study, a cohort study of public housing residents in south Los Angeles, CA. Linear probability models estimated the association between vaccine uptake and participants’ race/ethnicity, sequentially adding controls for sociodemographic characteristics, health care access and insurance, prior infection, and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines. Differences in reasons for vaccination status by race/ethnicity were also tested. Results Mexican Hispanic and non-Mexican Hispanic participants were 31% points (95% CI: 0.21, 0.41, p < 0.001) and 44% points (95% CI: 0.32, 0.56, p < 0.001) more likely to be vaccinated than non-Hispanic Black participants, respectively. The disparity between Black and Hispanic participants was reduced by about 40% after controlling for attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines. Among Hispanic participants, non-Mexican participants were 13% points (95% CI: 0.03, 0.24, p = 0.01) more likely to be vaccinated than Mexican participants, however, these differences were no longer significant after controlling for individual and household characteristics (β = 0.04, 95% CI: -0.07, 0.15, p = 0.44). Conclusion There are sizeable racial and ethnic COVID-19 vaccination disparities even within low-income and minoritized communities. Accounting for this heterogeneity and its correlates can be critically important for public health efforts to ensure vaccine equity