Time-Varying Effects of Changes in Parental Jobs, Partnership Statuses, and Residence on Children’s Educational Attainment

Juli Simon Thomas, University of California, Los Angeles

Changes in socioeconomic status, household composition, and residence affect children’s educational outcomes. However, event timing matters. I address variation in experience of disruptive events by analyzing high school completion, college attendance, and college completion; I divide childhood into ages 0-5, 6-11, and 12-17 to see if effects vary depending on timing. I find that events occur at all times, though moving is more likely in the youngest age range. All events have a significant negative effect on outcomes when they occur in early childhood, with the exception of the effect of parental self-employment on high school graduation. Events occurring when the child is between 6 and 11 significantly negatively affect college graduation. When the child is between 12 and 17, fathers’ job loss and gain negatively affect high school graduation and parents’ losing and gaining of partners negatively affects college graduation. Moving is detrimental to all outcomes at that age.