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Research ArticleArticle
Open Access

Effects of School Starting Age on the Family

Rasmus Kløve Landersø, Helena Skyt Nielsen and Marianne Simonsen
Published online before print August 22, 2019, 1117-9174R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.55.4.1117-9174R1
Rasmus Kløve Landersø
Rasmus Kløve Landersø is a senior researcher at the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit. Helena Skyt Nielsen is a professor of economics at Aarhus University (). Marianne Simonsen is a professor of economics at Aarhus University. This paper uses confidential data from Statistics Denmark.
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Helena Skyt Nielsen
Rasmus Kløve Landersø is a senior researcher at the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit. Helena Skyt Nielsen is a professor of economics at Aarhus University (). Marianne Simonsen is a professor of economics at Aarhus University. This paper uses confidential data from Statistics Denmark.
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Marianne Simonsen
Rasmus Kløve Landersø is a senior researcher at the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit. Helena Skyt Nielsen is a professor of economics at Aarhus University (). Marianne Simonsen is a professor of economics at Aarhus University. This paper uses confidential data from Statistics Denmark.
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Abstract

This paper investigates intra-family spillovers from the focal child’s timing of school start. We first show how school starting age affects the timing of subsequent educational transitions. Exploiting quasi-random variation in school starting age induced by date of birth, we then document effects on parental outcomes. At child age seven, for example, being one year older at school start increases maternal employment with four percentage points; at child age 15, it increases the likelihood that parents still cohabit with eight percentage points. Our results also indicate that later school start for the focal child improves older siblings’ academic performance.

JEL
  • I21
  • J12
Keywords
  • marital capital
  • marital dissolution
  • educational transition
  • regression discontinuity
  • spillover effects

This open access article is distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0) and is freely available online at: http://jhr.uwpress.org

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Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
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Effects of School Starting Age on the Family
Rasmus Kløve Landersø, Helena Skyt Nielsen, Marianne Simonsen
Journal of Human Resources Aug 2019, 1117-9174R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.4.1117-9174R1

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Effects of School Starting Age on the Family
Rasmus Kløve Landersø, Helena Skyt Nielsen, Marianne Simonsen
Journal of Human Resources Aug 2019, 1117-9174R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.4.1117-9174R1
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Keywords

  • I21
  • J12
  • marital capital
  • marital dissolution
  • educational transition
  • regression discontinuity
  • spillover effects
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