The Impact of Parental Wealth on College Degree Attainment: Evidence from the Housing Boom and Bust
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 110,
May 2020
(pp. 405-10)
Abstract
This study provides new evidence on the impact of parental wealth on college degree attainment. Using geocoded data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1968–2017) linked to local housing price data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the empirical strategy analyzes parental housing wealth changes induced by local housing booms of the late 1990s–early 2000s and the subsequent housing bust of the 2007–2009 period. 2SLS/IV estimates show parental wealth significantly increases the likelihood of earning a four-year college degree. Moreover, the combined effects of parental income and wealth are significantly greater than the effects of income alone.Citation
Johnson, Rucker C. 2020. "The Impact of Parental Wealth on College Degree Attainment: Evidence from the Housing Boom and Bust." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 110: 405-10. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20201110Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G51 Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- I24 Education and Inequality
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse