Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Title: The Impact of Maternal Beliefs on Child Skills Development from Early Ages to Adolescence
Author-Name: Greta Morando
Author-Email: 
Author-Name: Sonkurt Sen
Author-Email: sonkurt.sen@uni-bonn.de

Classification-JEL: D10, D91, J13, J24, I24
Keywords: Parental Beliefs, Child Development, Locus of Control, Inequality

Abstract: Parental beliefs about the returns to investment play a key role in shaping how parents invest in
their children, yet their long-term impact on child development is understudied. Using a valueadded
model in a nationally representative cohort study, we find that maternal beliefs about
returns to investment, as measured by locus of control, positively influence children’s socioemotional
skills from early childhood to adolescence. These beliefs have a negligible impact
on cognitive skills and academic outcomes. Parental investment emerges as a key channel
in this relationship, suggesting that maternal beliefs primarily shape children’s non-cognitive
development through differences in how parents engage with their children. We find that
intergenerational inequality in child development is partly driven by the socio-economic gradient
in maternal beliefs about the returns to investment.


Note: 
Length: 62
Creation-Date: 2024-01
Revision-Date: 2025-05
File-URL: https://www.crctr224.de/research/discussion-papers/archive/dp498
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:CRCTR224_2024_498v2