Distal family factors
association of education and age of mother that is in fact due to labour market
ambition.
5.4.3 Summary
We conclude that teen parenthood is a potentially important risk factor for low child
attainment or behaviour difficulties, particularly if compounded with other risk
factors. However, because of the stage of the lifecourse at which the distal factor
necessarily occurs (teenage years) there is not a clear causal pathway for an effect of
parents’ education on child development via this route. Education is implicated in the
process as school failure or low school engagement may be an important cause of
teenage parenthood in some circumstances. However, this is more a matter of
relations with the school and academic success in childhood and early adolescence
than of qualifications per se. If education is defined in terms of cognitive attainment
rather than qualifications then teenage parenthood may be an important mediator of
inter-generational effects of education on children’s development.
5.5. Income and poverty
Studies have shown that children living in low income families have a higher
probability of dropping out of school, committing crime, misbehaving at school and
attaining lower educational qualifications (Hobcraft & Kiernan, 1999). Also, children
from low income families score lower than children from richer families on health
assessments, cognitive development, school achievement and emotional well-being
(Brooks-Gunn et al., 1997). In this section we consider why this may be so and how
income and education interact. We restrict the concept of poverty to income and other
material assets, such as housing, car ownership and durable goods, although we
acknowledge the multi-dimensionality of poverty, other aspects of which are
addressed elsewhere in the paper.
5.5.1 The effects of income and poverty on educational attainment
Income is a very important determinant of child development. It affects outcomes
through deprivation of those material needs which aid educational success, for
example a learning environment with adequate housing, books, clothing and
educational games. Another important channel is through the lack of provision to
meet children’s physical needs which are necessary for future development. In this
sense, income provides families with the means to offer their children nutrition, health
and care which are essential features of the home environment.
The empirical evidence on the causal effect of income on child development is
relatively robust. It utilises longitudinal data with advanced econometric methods to
control for individual heterogeneity and the effect of unobservable individual
characteristics. Results replicated in different studies are consistent with respect to the
negative effect of income poverty on children educational attainment. Some
discrepancy occurs in terms of the particular role of income poverty during the life
course but overall there is clear evidence of income effects. In addition to the question
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