Feeling the Pinch: Child Spacing and Constraints on Parental Economic Investments in Children

Abstract

In this study, we address the relationship between an often overlooked dimension of family structure — the spacing between children's births — and the degree to which parents bestow economic capital on their children. Our focus is on parental economic transfers to children at the point when such investments are not viewed as obligatory — that is, when their children approach young adulthood. Analysis of data from High School and Beyond documents a strong negative effect of close spacing on three indicators of parental economic investments. The use of alternative measures of spacing produces strikingly similar patterns. These results underscore the importance of examining spacing as it relates to parental investments and the utility of studying sheer economic exchanges, not just social ones, across generations.