Honors College Theses

Publication Date

11-1-2026

Major

Economics (BBA)

Release Option

Open Access

Faculty Mentor

Jeffrey Schiman

Abstract

This paper investigates whether maternal education produces cumulative health advantages for children. Extending the logic of Grossman’s (1972) health capital model to intergenerational transfers, I test whether the maternal education gradient widens as cohorts age. Using longitudinal data from the NLSY97, I track health outcomes from adolescence through age 39. To isolate the mechanism of health investment from inherited endowments, I employ child fixed-effects models with maternal education-by-child age interactions. This identification strategy controls for time-invariant genetic and behavioral predispositions, focusing specifically on within-person changes in health trajectories. The results provide a rigorous test of whether maternal education slows the rate of health stock decline, thereby clarifying its role in shaping long-term inequality and the intergenerational returns to human capital.

Thesis Summary

This thesis examines whether children of more-educated mothers become healthier adults, and when that advantage appears. Using national survey data that followed thousands of young people from age 12 into their late thirties, I compare each person’s health to their own earlier health, which removes the influence of traits that never change, such as genetics or birth weight. During the teenage years, the health gap between children of more- and less-educated mothers stays the same size. It widens sharply in the early twenties, when most young adults leave home and begin making their own health decisions, and then holds steady. Children of mothers with college education gain less weight and are less likely to become obese, though they are not protected from weight gain altogether. The findings suggest that health habits and knowledge passed from mother to child matter most once children become independent.

Copyright

This work is archived and distributed under the repository's Standard Copyright and Reuse License (opens in new tab). End users may copy, store, and distribute this work without restriction. For all other uses, permission must be obtained from the copyright owners or their authorized agents.

Download

Share

COinS