The Impact of Education on Family Formation: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the UK

87 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2018

See all articles by Michael Geruso

Michael Geruso

University of Texas at Austin; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Heather Royer

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: February 8, 2018

Abstract

We examine the impact of educational attainment on fertility and mating market outcomes. Using a regression discontinuity design, we exploit an extension of the compulsory schooling age from 15 to 16 in 1972 in the UK. The change was binding for a quarter of the population. Simple plots of the raw data show substantially lower teen fertility rates across the threshold of the reform, but no impacts on abortions and no impact on completed fertility by age 45. In the mating market, the reform induced both men and women to marry more educated mates, consistent with positive assortative mating. We show that timing of the teen fertility reduction coincided with the timing of the extra induced schooling and that the probability of marrying a peer in the same academic cohort rose. These results suggest that school attendance may have important direct effects, in addition to and separate from the human capital effects of education.

Keywords: compulsory schooling, fertility, abortion, assortative mating

JEL Classification: I26, J12, J13

Suggested Citation

Geruso, Michael and Royer, Heather, The Impact of Education on Family Formation: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the UK (February 8, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3121352 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3121352

Michael Geruso (Contact Author)

University of Texas at Austin ( email )

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Heather Royer

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) ( email )

South Hall 5504
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
United States

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