Self-Productivity and Complementarities in Human Development: Evidence from MARS

41 Pages Posted: 11 Sep 2008

See all articles by Dorothea Blomeyer

Dorothea Blomeyer

ZI Mannheim

Katja Coneus

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

Manfred Laucht

ZI Mannheim; University of Potsdam

Friedhelm Pfeiffer

Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW); University of Mannheim - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: 2008

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of self-productivity and home resources in capability formation from infancy to adolescence. In addition, we study the complementarities between basic cognitive, motor and noncognitive abilities and social as well as academic achievement. Our data are taken from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk (MARS), an epidemiological cohort study following the long-term outcome of early risk factors. Results indicate that initial risk conditions cumulate and that differences in basic abilities increase during development. Self-productivity rises in the developmental process and complementarities are evident. Noncognitive abilities promote cognitive abilities and social achievement. There is remarkable stability in the distribution of the economic and socio-emotional home resources during the early life cycle. This is presumably a major reason for the evolution of inequality in human development.

Keywords: Initial Conditions, Intelligence, Persistence, Home Resources, Social Competencies, School Achievement

JEL Classification: D87, I12, I21, J13

Suggested Citation

Blomeyer, Dorothea and Coneus, Katja and Laucht, Manfred and Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, Self-Productivity and Complementarities in Human Development: Evidence from MARS (2008). ZEW - Centre for European Economic Research Discussion Paper No. 08-067, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1266097 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1266097

Dorothea Blomeyer

ZI Mannheim ( email )

Postfach 12 21 20
68072 Mannheim
Germany

Katja Coneus (Contact Author)

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research ( email )

P.O. Box 10 34 43
L 7,1
D-68034 Mannheim, 68034
Germany

Manfred Laucht

ZI Mannheim ( email )

Postfach 12 21 20
68072 Mannheim
Germany

University of Potsdam

August-Bebel Strasse 89
Potsdam, 14482
Germany

Friedhelm Pfeiffer

Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) ( email )

D-68161 Mannheim
Germany
++49 (0)621/1235-150 (Phone)
++49 (0)621/1235-225 (Fax)

University of Mannheim - Department of Economics

D-68131 Mannheim
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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