How Does Adult Children's Education Influence Their Parents' Survival? Evidence from China

Background: Most previous research on intergenerational transmission of human capital has focused on how parents' human capital is transmitted to their children. Less is known about how children's human capital affects parents, especially in developing countries. In this study, I explore the reverse phenomenon: how children's human capital (education) affects parents’ human capital (health). Specifically, I study the effect of adult children’s education on parents’ survival using a large sample of Chinese older adults and their children.

Method: The data came from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2015 (n = 18,605, aged 50–102 years at baseline; 2,965 died in 2013, and 4,589 died in 2015). Adult children's educational attainments were used as an indicator of human capital. Respondents' and spouses' own educational attainments, demographic factors, and household income per capita were controlled in the final models. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the association by parental gender and by cause of death.

Results: After controlling for parents' own socio-economic resources, adult children's educational attainments were positively associated with parent's survival rate in China. A year increase in adult children’s education was associated with 5% decline in the hazard of maternal death (adjusted Hazard Ratio [aHR]: 0.95,95%CI:0.94-0.97), and a 7% decline in the hazard of paternal death (aHR: 0.93, 95%CI: 0.91-0.95). Among mothers, the association was strongest for maternal, communicable, and nutritional conditions (aHR:0.94, 95%CI: 0.78-0.95). Among fathers, the association was strongest for injuries (aHR:0.87, 95%CI:0.79-0.95) and lung cancer (aHR：0.92，95%CI:0.89-0.96).

Conclusions: The educational level of adult children are positively associated with survival in older adults in China. This research contributes to the field of human capital theory through enhancing the understanding of the connections between adult children and parents in old age. Public policy to increase investments in college education of children could be an effective policy tool to improve the living conditions for elderly parents. This research has important implications for the amelioration of health disparities particularly in lower-resource settings.