Maternal genetic risk for depression and child human capital

Article dans une revue: We here address the causal relationship between the maternal genetic risk for depression and child human capital using UK birth-cohort data. We find that an increase of one standard deviation (SD) in the maternal polygenic risk score for depression reduces their children's cognitive and non-cognitive skill scores by 5 to 7% of a SD throughout adolescence. Our results are robust to a battery of sensitivity tests addressing, among others, concerns about pleiotropy and dynastic effects. Our Gelbach decomposition analysis suggests that the strongest mediator is genetic nurture (through maternal depression itself), with genetic inheritance playing only a marginal role.

Auteur(s)

Giorgia Menta, Anthony Lepinteur, Andrew E. Clark, Simone Ghislandi, Conchita d’Ambrosio

Revue
  • Journal of Health Economics
Date de publication
  • 2023
Mots-clés JEL
I14 J24
Mots-clés
  • Maternal depression
  • Human capital
  • ALSPAC
Pages
  • 102718
Version
  • 1
Volume
  • 87