Mothers’ Employment and their Children’s Schooling: A Joint Multi-Level Analysis for India

March 7, 2012
5.30 PM

• Gianna Giannelli, University of Florence  and IZA

Introduction: K. Vela Velupillai, University of Trento

Abstract:
This paper studies the relationship between mothers’ employment and their children’s schooling in India. Using the second National Family Health Survey, the results of a multi-level bivariate probit model with random e ects show that, controlling for covariates, the correlation between mothers’ employment and children’s schooling is negative. One of the main results of the paper is that women in poorer households are more likely to work but, given the negative correlation, their additional income does not seem sufficient to enable children’s school attendance. A sensitivity analysis on wealth deciles shows that this relationship disappears in urban areas and becomes weaker in rural areas at the top wealth deciles.