The Effect of Parental Labor Supply on Child Schooling: Evidence from Trade Liberalization in India

This paper estimates the effect of changes in maternal and paternal labor supply on the schooling rates of children in India using the variation in trade tariffs across a period of liberalization. The results suggest that increases in maternal labor supply raise the schooling probability of younger children by seven percentage points. This accounts for one fourth of the overall improvement in schooling rates among this age group. The effect for older children is found to be insignificant, and increases in paternal labor supply are found to have no effect on schooling rates. The results found through instrumentation were an order of magnitude higher than the ordinary effects based on correlation between parental labor supply and child schooling. In addition, a set of instruments based on the gender composition of children was used to test whether the selection of fertility levels is a driving factor. While the effect of the number of children on schooling is significant, it does not alter the coefficient of either parent’s labor supply.