Volume 36, Number 2 (Spring) 2001
Lang, Kevin, and Jay L. Zagorsky. 2001. "Does Growing Up with a Parent Absent Really Hurt?" Journal of Human Resources 36(2):253-273.
It is widely recognized that children who grow up without a biological parent do worse, on average , than other children. However, because having a single parent is highly correlated with many other socioeconomic disadvantages, the negative outcomes might be caused by something beyond parent's absence. Econometric tests using a variety of background controls and parental death as an exogenous cause of absence, show little evidence that a parent's presence during childhood affects economic well being in adulthood. The two exceptions are that living without a mother impacts girls' cognitive performance while having a father die lowers sons' chances of marriage.
Kevin Lang is a professor of economics at Boston University (Lang@bdu.edu). Jay L. Zagorsky is a professor of economics at the center for Human Resource Research, Ohio State University (Zagorsky.1@osu.edu). They wish to thank their parents, participants in seminars at MIT, Boston University, and the NBER, Eli, Berman, Shulamit Kahn, and two anonymous referees. Lang acknowledges funding from the NSF under grant SBR-9515052. The authors take responsibility for all remaining errors. The data used in this article and a data appendix can be obtained from Zagorsky at 921 Chatham Lane, Columbus, Ohio 43221.
© 2002 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X