In this paper, we compare the educational attainment of birth and nonbirth
children of women in the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). We find
that children raised by step, adoptive, or foster mothers obtain significan
tly less education, on average, than do the birth children of the same wome
n. Nonbirth children of a woman receive, on average, I year less schooling
than do her birth children. with the educational break occurring at the tim
e children finish high school and begin college. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science
Inc. All rights reserved.