D4 Published development or research report or study
The Causal Effects of Education on Family Health: Evidence from Expanding Access to Higher Education
Authors: Dang, Thang; Haapanen, Mika; Suhonen, Tuomo
Publication year: 2024
Series title: Työpapereita
Number in series: 347
First page : 1
Last page: 48
ISBN: 978-952-209-216-8
ISSN: 1795-1801
Web address : https://labore.fi/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Tyopapereita-347.pdf(external)
Exploiting the geographical expansion of the Finnish university system, we study the causal effects of education on family health. We find that education has positive impacts not only on individuals’ health but also on their parents’ health later in life. An additional year of education decreases the probability of mental health-related hospitalizations and drug use by 3–4 percentage points while having less significant impacts on early mortality. As for the spillover effects, it increases a mother’s probability of old age survival by 2–3 percentage points, whereas the estimated effects on parents’ mental health and a father’s survival are less significant.
Funding information in the publication:
This work was funded by the Research Council of Finland (project numbers 355153 and 345546), the OP Research Foundation (project number 20180084), the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, and the Palkansaajasäätiö Foundation (’Innovation, productivity and economic growth’ project).
