Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Using long-running data from the German Socio-Economic Panel we investigate the impact of paternal unemployment on child labor market and education outcomes. We first describe correlation patterns and then use sibling fixed effects and the Gottschalk (1996) method to identify the causal effects of paternal unemployment. We find different patterns for sons and daughters. Paternal unemployment does not seem to causally affect the outcomes of sons. In contrast, it increases both daughters' worklessness and educational attainment. We test the robustness of the results and explore potential explanations. We thank seminar participants at the BGPE Research Workshop in Augsburg, the University of Sydney, the University of Otago, the ESPE conference in Braga, the cesifo Area conference on the Economics of Education, the EEA conference in Toulouse, the EALE conference in Ljubljana, and our discussant Chris Karbownik for very helpful comments. We are the first to offer evidence for the German case on the long-run effect of paternal unemployment on offspring's educational attainment in general and for daughters specifically. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor mayGermany is particularly interesting as, on the one hand, the OECD advised to increase enrollment in tertiary education (OECD 2012) and, on the other hand, Germany faces low youth 1 The latter argument touches the debate about possible credit constraints on post-secondary education attendance (e.g., Cameron and Taber 2004). Such financial constraints might be more severe in countries with tuition fees, such as the U.S., than in Germany where tertiary education is generally free and costs mainly consist of foregone earnings. 3 unemployment. We take advantage of long running panel data from the German SocioEconomic Panel (SOEP) to investigate correlation and causation patterns. Fixed effects techniques and the Gottschalk (1996) method identify causal relationships.We contribute to the literature in a number of ways. First, this is the first study on the long-run effect of paternal unemployment on educational attainment for Europe. Second, we provide the first study on the intergenerational transmission of unemployment for daughters for Germany. Third, by looking at unemployment and education in one study, we provide a more complete picture on the effect of paternal unemployment. Fourth, given the (mostly data driven) variety in the definition of treatment age in previous studies, we provide systematic evid...

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. Intergenerational transmission of unemployment -evidence for German sons Miriam Mäder Steffen MüllerRegina T. Riphahn Caroline SchwientekUniversity of Erlangen-Nuremberg 24 September, 2014 This paper studies the association between the unemployment experience of fathers and their sons. Based on German survey data that cover the last decades we find significant positive correlations. Using instrumental variables estimation and the Gottschalk (1996) method we investigate to what extent fathers' unemployment is causal for offsprings' employment outcomes. In agreement with most of the small international literature we do not find a positive causal effect for intergenerational unemployment transmission. This outcome is robust to alternative data structures and to tests at the intensive and extensive margin of unemployment. IntroductionUnemployment of young individuals is one of the most pressing labor market problems of our times. Recently, some of the crisis ridden European economies faced youth unemployment rates well beyond 20 percent which instigate not only poverty and a sense of desperation but also waves of emigration and delays in family formation. The literature shows that the early experience of unemployment can be influential for lifetime labor market opportunities (e.g., Gregg 2001, Schmillen andUmkehrer 2013). However, while most commentators agree on the significance of early unemployment there is surprisingly little discussion and evidence on some of its key determinants especially the family background. In this paper we study the intergenerational transmission of unemployment experience, describe its patterns, and investigate causal relationships.A number of mechanisms may relate parent and child unemployment. This paper is structured as follows. We first summarize key findings and approaches of the literature on the intergenerational transmission of labor market outcomes and discuss our empirical methods. Then we describe our data. The results section presents findings of least squares regressions, instrumental variables analyses, an application of the Gottschalk (1996) method, and robustness tests. In section 5 we conclude with a summary of our findings. Literature and empirical approach Existing evidence on intergenerational transmission of labor market outcomesSeveral empirical studies investigate the relation between the outcomes of parents and their children with a focus on unemployment and welfare receipt. Studies on unemployment transmis...

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. What Drives the Reversal of the Gender Education Gap? Evidence from Germany Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may AbstractWe study the mechanisms that are associated with the gender education gap and its reversal in Germany. We focus on three outcomes, graduation from upper secondary school, any tertiary education, and tertiary degree. Neither individual and family background nor labor market characteristics appear to be strongly associated with the gender education gap. There is some evidence that the gender gap in upper secondary education reflects the rising share of single parent households which impacts boys' attainment more than girls'. The gender education gap in tertiary education is correlated with the development of class sizes and social norms. Also, gender differences in non-cognitive abilities are considered to render females' effort cost of higher education lower than that of males.Becker et al. (2010) study gender-specific changes in the costs and benefits of higher education. The authors consider the female advantage in the total cost of education to be central to the reversal of the gender education gap. In particular, higher non-cognitive skills of females, a lower incidence of behavioral problems, and the smaller variance in the distribution of noncognitive skills render the female supply of college educated labor more elastic than that of males. The authors argue that the rising demand for college educated workers generated a larger supply response among females rather than males.The literature on the gender education gap outside of the U.S. is slim. Christofides et al.(2010) confirm much of the U.S. evidence for Canadian university attendance. They find that the university wage premium explains most of the changes over time with smaller roles for changes in tuition and real incomes. In contrast, Hubbard (2011) points out that the college wage premium for women does not exceed that of men, once unbiased estimations are used. 3We study determinants of the German gender education gap and its reversal for the birth cohorts 1965 through 1989. In contrast to most of the literature we consider education outcomes at different stages of the life cycle, i.e., secondary as well as tertiary education outcomes. 4 We describe recent developments and evaluate the relevance of potential determinants of the gender education gap and its reversal including a rich set of indicators of wage and employment premiums, shifts in occupation-specific ski...

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. Intergenerational transmission of unemployment -evidence for German sons Miriam Mäder Steffen MüllerRegina T. Riphahn Caroline SchwientekUniversity of Erlangen-Nuremberg 24 September, 2014 This paper studies the association between the unemployment experience of fathers and their sons. Based on German survey data that cover the last decades we find significant positive correlations. Using instrumental variables estimation and the Gottschalk (1996) method we investigate to what extent fathers' unemployment is causal for offsprings' employment outcomes. In agreement with most of the small international literature we do not find a positive causal effect for intergenerational unemployment transmission. This outcome is robust to alternative data structures and to tests at the intensive and extensive margin of unemployment. IntroductionUnemployment of young individuals is one of the most pressing labor market problems of our times. Recently, some of the crisis ridden European economies faced youth unemployment rates well beyond 20 percent which instigate not only poverty and a sense of desperation but also waves of emigration and delays in family formation. The literature shows that the early experience of unemployment can be influential for lifetime labor market opportunities (e.g., Gregg 2001, Schmillen andUmkehrer 2013). However, while most commentators agree on the significance of early unemployment there is surprisingly little discussion and evidence on some of its key determinants especially the family background. In this paper we study the intergenerational transmission of unemployment experience, describe its patterns, and investigate causal relationships.A number of mechanisms may relate parent and child unemployment. This paper is structured as follows. We first summarize key findings and approaches of the literature on the intergenerational transmission of labor market outcomes and discuss our empirical methods. Then we describe our data. The results section presents findings of least squares regressions, instrumental variables analyses, an application of the Gottschalk (1996) method, and robustness tests. In section 5 we conclude with a summary of our findings. Literature and empirical approach Existing evidence on intergenerational transmission of labor market outcomesSeveral empirical studies investigate the relation between the outcomes of parents and their children with a focus on unemployment and welfare receipt. Studies on unemployment transmis...

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