Intergenerational transmission of human capital: Evidence with an alternative instrument from Thailand
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find the rate of intergenerational transmission of human capital and comparative schooling attainment between lower and higher income families using the labor force survey in Thailand.
Design/methodology/approach
Instrumental variable (IV) approach has been used in this paper. The author proposed an alternative instrument for parental education to identify the rate of transmission, which is the parents’ cohorts’ mean schooling in their respective provinces.
Findings
This paper found that the rate of transmission of human capital from father is higher than that from mother in Thailand. For both, the rate of transmission in Thailand is higher than that in the developed countries. In addition, it is found that children from lower income families are getting lesser education than those from higher income families in Thailand.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is used as an alternative instrument that could solve the endogeneity problem in the literature of intergenerational transmission of human capital.
Practical implications
The results of rate of transmission can help to make educational policies in countries like Thailand. It also could help the policymakers to evaluate and redesign the student loan scheme (SLS) in Thailand.
Originality/value
This study is used as an alternative instrument for parental education to identify the rate of transmission in an IV approach. This paper is the first to identify the intergenerational transmission rate in Thailand. In addition, it evaluates Thai SLS in an intergenerational framework.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper is a part of my PhD dissertation at the School of Development Economics, National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Thailand. The author would like to acknowledge the author’s Supervisor: Saran Sarntisart and Co-supervisors: Tongyai Iyavarakul and Isra Sarntisart. The author also expresses gratitude to National Statistical Office, Thailand for the data support and; all anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the paper.
Citation
Uddin, M.N. (2019), "Intergenerational transmission of human capital: Evidence with an alternative instrument from Thailand", Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 46 No. 3, pp. 671-680. https://doi.org/10.1108/JES-10-2017-0288
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited