۱- Introduction

۲- Data and methodology

۳- Results

۴- Sensitivity checks

۵- Possible underlying channels

۶- Conclusion

References

Abstract

This study analyses the relationship between life expectancy and parental education. Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study and survival analysis models, we show that maternal education is related to children’s life expectancy – even after controlling for children’s own level of education. This applies equally to daughters and sons as well as to children’s further life expectancies examined at age 35 to age 65. This pattern is more pronounced for younger cohorts. In most cases, the education of the father is not significantly related to children’s life expectancy. Neither the vocational training nor the occupational position of the parents in childhood, which both correlate with household income, can explain the connection. The health behaviour of the children and the health accumulated over the life course appear as important channels. This study extends the previous literature that focused mostly on the relationship between individuals’ own education and their life expectancy. It implies that the link between education and life expectancy is substantially stronger and that returns to education are higher if the intergenerational component is considered.

Introduction

Numerous studies document a strong correlation between individuals’ education and their life expectancy (Cutler et al., 2011; Grossman, 2015; Galama et al., 2018). Little research, however, studies the extent to which life expectancy is related to parental education. Studies increasingly point out that parents play a central role in the health, education, and labour market success of their children: Even before children enter school, their language skills, socio-emotional stability, and school readiness show strong correlations with parental education (e.g. Huebener et al., 2018). In the further course of a child’s life, significant correlations between parental education and their child’s educational and labour market success solidify. Despite this important role of parental background on child outcomes throughout life, little is known about the link between parental education and children’s life expectancy. This paper analyses this relationship. Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study and Cox survival analysis models, we present evidence for a strong correlation between children’s mortality after age 65 and maternal education, which exists for both sons and daughters. This correlation proves to be very robust, taking into account general cohort effects and regional differences. The link with paternal education is smaller and, in most cases, not statistically significant. Children whose mothers have completed middle or upper secondary school live an average of about two years longer after the age of 65 than children whose mothers have no school leaving certificate or only attended the basic school track. Parental education may influence children’s life expectancy through various channels. Better educated parents may influence the health and important health-related behaviours of children early in their lives (e.g. Aizer and Currie, 2014; Carneiro et al., 2013). For example, better educated parents could already behave more health-consciously during pregnancy and, for example, attend pre-natal check-ups more frequently. Studies show that better educated mothers are less likely to experience premature birth or deliver underweight children (e.g. Chou et al., 2010; Currie and Moretti, 2003; McCrary and Royer, 2011). In early childhood, better educated parents may provide healthier diets and encourage healthier lifestyles (e.g. Case et al., 2002; A. Currie, Shields and Price, 2007; J. Currie and Stabile, 2003; Soteriades and DiFranza, 2003) or act as health-oriented role models themselves (e.g. Göhlmann et al., 2010; Powell and Chaloupka, 2005). Better educated parents could send their children to better schools in which their classmates behave healthier – during the phase of life in which health-related behaviours such as smoking, physical activity, and diet are influenced (e.g. Richter, 2010). A higher school degree can, in turn, improve children’s labour market success, leading to less physically demanding jobs. Moreover, parents with more education usually have a higher income with which they can afford better medical care. A further channel could be that better educated parents attain professions that are less demanding for their health and that parents’ professions affect the children’s professional choices (e.g. Constant and Zimmermann, 2003; Minello and Blossfeld, 2014).