HOW MUCH DOES CHILDHOOD POVERTY AFFECT THE LIFE CHANCES OF CHILDREN

Why parental socioeconomic status correlates strongly with various mea sures of child and adult achievement is an important and controversial research question. After summarizing findings from recent contributio ns to this literature, we conduct two sets Of analyses using delta fro m the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Completed schooling and nonmarit al childbearing are related to parental income during early and middle childhood, as well as during adolescence. These analyses suggest that family economic conditions in early childhood have the greatest impac t on achievement, especially among children in families with low incom es. Estimates from sibling models support the hypothesis that economic conditions in early childhood are important determinants of completed schooling.