# The effects of parental education on male mortality: evidence from the first wave of compulsory schooling laws

## TL;DR

This study shows that higher paternal education is linked to longer lifespans for sons, likely due to better education and occupational outcomes.

## Contribution

The paper provides causal evidence using historical schooling laws to show how paternal education affects sons' longevity.

## Key findings

- An extra year of fathers’ education increases sons’ age at death by 5.6 months using IV estimates.
- Paternal education boosts sons’ education by 0.22 years and improves occupational status.
- Intergenerational human capital and occupational mobility are key pathways for improved longevity.

## Abstract

This paper investigates the causal impact of fathers’ education on sons’ longevity by linking the full count 1940 US census to Social Security Administration death records and using the first wave of compulsory schooling laws from 1875 to 1912 as instruments for education. OLS estimates suggest small protective effects—conditional on children surviving until age 35, an extra year of fathers’ education increases sons’ age at death by 0.75 months. IV estimates are substantially larger, with an extra year of a father’s education increasing his son’s age at death by 5.6 months. We also find that an extra year of fathers’ education increases sons’ education by 0.22 years, conditional on children surviving till 16 years. This suggests that intergenerational transmission of human capital is a channel linking fathers’ education to children’s longevity. In addition, we find significant improvements in sons’ occupational status associated with higher paternal education, indicating that occupational mobility is another important pathway through which parental education improves long-term health and longevity.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00148-025-01134-y.