Intergenerational Human Capital Impacts and Complementarities in Kenya
Working Paper 32617
DOI 10.3386/w32617
Issue Date
This study exploits experimental variation in parent human capital (early-life school-based deworming) and a shock to schooling (extended Covid closures) to estimate how these factors interact in the production of child human capital within a sample of 3,500 Kenyan 3-8 year olds. Parents with additional exposure to childhood deworming have children with improved human capital, including in health, non-cognitive development, and cognition; cognitive scores are +0.26 standard deviation units higher among treated parents' school-age children, only prior to school closures. Findings are interpreted through a model where home-based and school inputs are complements in the production of child cognition.