Mother's Income and her Children's Education

Emily P Nell, University of Wisconsin at Madison

This study proposes to investigate effects of mother’s income on her children’s educational attainment. Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, I will analyze mother’s income as an absolute measure, her contribution to the total household income, and as a relative measure in proportion to the father’s income. One theory suggests that mother’s income simply increases the economic ability of the household to pay for a college education. Another proposes that parental role modeling of gender, through income, will add to the total income effect, especially for daughters.