Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticles

The Effects of Education on Health: An Intergenerational Perspective

Mathias Huebener
Published online before print November 10, 2022, 0219-10060R2; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0219-10060R2
Mathias Huebener
*Mathias Huebener is a senior researcher at the Federal Institute for Population Research (BIB), and a research affiliate at IZA Bonn and the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). E-mail: .
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

This paper presents evidence of causal effects of parental education on children’s health behaviors and long-term health. I study intergenerational effects of a compulsory schooling increase in Germany, exploiting the staggered introduction of the reform with difference-in-differences models and event studies. Maternal schooling reduces children’s smoking and being overweight in adolescence. The effects persist into adulthood, reducing chronic conditions that often result from unhealthy lifestyles. I find no effects of paternal schooling. Increased maternal investments in children’s education and associated improvements in children’s peer environment at a critical age for initiating unhealthy behaviors are possible effect channels.

Keywords:
  • Parental education
  • child health
  • health behavior
  • smoking
  • overweight
JEL:
  • I12
  • I24
  • I26

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The Effects of Education on Health: An Intergenerational Perspective
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
The Effects of Education on Health: An Intergenerational Perspective
Mathias Huebener
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2022, 0219-10060R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0219-10060R2

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
The Effects of Education on Health: An Intergenerational Perspective
Mathias Huebener
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2022, 0219-10060R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0219-10060R2
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Heterogeneous Returns to Active Labour Market Programs for Indigenous Populations
  • Leadership & Gender Composition in Managerial Positions
  • The Impact of Paid Family Leave on Families with Health Shocks
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • Parental education
  • child health
  • health behavior
  • smoking
  • overweight
  • I12
  • I24
  • I26
UW Press logo

© 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire