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. 2018 Mar;108(3):775-827.
doi: 10.1257/aer.20160133.

How Does Household Income Affect Child Personality Traits and Behaviors?

Randall Akee  1 , William Copeland  2 , E Jane Costello  2 , Emilia Simeonova  3
Affiliations

How Does Household Income Affect Child Personality Traits and Behaviors?

Randall Akee et al. Am Econ Rev. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

We examine the effects of a quasi-experimental unconditional household income transfer on child emotional and behavioral health and personality traits. Using longitudinal data, we find that there are large beneficial effects on children's emotional and behavioral health and personality traits during adolescence. We find evidence that these effects are most pronounced for children who start out with the lowest initial endowments. The income intervention also results in improvements in parental relationships which we interpret as a potential mechanism behind our findings.

Keywords: D14; I12; I26; I31; I38; J13; J15.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper.

Figures

Appendix Figure 1
Appendix Figure 1. Great Smoky Mountain Study of Youth Survey Schedule by Age Cohort and Year
Notes: C1 represents the youngest age cohort (children initially nine years old at intake) for both American Indians and non-Indians. C2 represents the middle age cohort (children initially 11 years old at intake) and C3 represents the oldest age cohort (children initially 13 years old at intake). All cohorts were surveyed up to and including age 16 at an annual basis, then at ages 19, 21, 24, and 25. Casino operations on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reservation in 1996.
Appendix Figure 2
Appendix Figure 2
Relationship between Initial Income and Psychological Traits
Appendix Figure 3
Appendix Figure 3. American Indians and Non-Indians Combined (Triple Difference Coefficients) in First Three Survey Waves: All Three Cohorts
Notes: These five figures display the estimated coefficient from a triple interaction of American Indian × YoungestCohorts × SurveyWave. Year of Casino opening is the omitted category. These figures indicate that prior to the tribal cash payments there were no statistically significant differences in the trends of the outcome variables.
Appendix Figure 4
Appendix Figure 4
Mean of Dependent Variables by Survey Wave for All Three Cohorts Separated by American Indian Status
Appendix Figure 4
Appendix Figure 4
Mean of Dependent Variables by Survey Wave for All Three Cohorts Separated by American Indian Status
Appendix Figure 4
Appendix Figure 4
Mean of Dependent Variables by Survey Wave for All Three Cohorts Separated by American Indian Status
Appendix Figure 5
Appendix Figure 5. Bureau of Indian Affairs Expenditures Per Capita of the AI Population
Source: Walke (2000)
Figure 1
Figure 1
The Effects of Unconditional Transfers on Income around the Start of Casino Operations
Figure 2
Figure 2
The Effects of Casino Transfers on Child Personality Traits and Behaviors around the Start of Casino Operations
Figure 3
Figure 3
The Effects of Casino Transfers on Parental Behaviors around the Time of Casino Opening
Figure 4
Figure 4
The Effects of Casino Transfers on Parental Mental Health around the Time of Casino Opening
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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