Dynamic Aspects of of Children's Health, Intellectual Development, and Family Economic Status

Abstract

This paper is an empirical investigation of childhood and adolescent health and cognitive development as determined by family economic variables. The model proposed recognizes that these processes may be jointly dependent, and may in part be determined by common unobserved factors; these factors may also be correlated with the observed family economic variables. A two-factor model is estimated using panel data, and the results indicate that when such factors are taken account of, family income is estimated to have no significant influence on health and cognitive development, but parents' education a strong positive influence.