Environmental Incentives and Parental Investments

Abstract

This paper analyses how a family's economic environment influences parental investments in children's development. Worsening economic conditions can incentivize parental investments by raising the importance of human capital accumulation in ensuring later-life success. Using a large representative German survey, in a regional and time- fixed effects setting, I estimate the causal impact of the local unemployment rate on parental investment measures. I find that a rise in the unemployment rate increases measures of maternal support, academic interest and homework assistance. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis suggests that the responsiveness of parenting behavior on economic incentives differs by parental and child background characteristics such as parental locus of control and secondary school track.