Correlation, Consumption, Confusion, or Constraints: Why Do Poor Children Perform so Poorly?
研究了贫困儿童在学业成就上持续落后的原因，考察了四种可能机制：代际能力相关性、投资的消费价值、信息摩擦和信贷约束，并评估它们是否与投资边际回报和父母收入影响儿童投资与技能的其他典型事实一致。
Abstract Early developing and persistent gaps in child achievement by family income combined with the importance of adolescent skill levels for schooling and lifetime earnings suggest that a key component of intergenerational mobility is determined before individuals enter school. After documenting important differences in early child investments by family income, we study four leading mechanisms thought to explain these gaps: intergenerational ability correlation, consumption value of investment, information frictions, and credit constraints. We evaluate whether these mechanisms are consistent with other stylized facts related to the marginal returns on investments and the effects of parental income on child investments and skills.