Ability, Heterogeneity, and Parental Choices on Human Capital

이질적 학습능력과 인적자본에 대한 부모의 교육투자 선택

  • Hwang, Jin-tae (Department of Economics, Daegu University) ;
  • Kim, Sung-min (School of Economics and Trade, Kyungpook National University)
  • 황진태 (대구대학교 경제학과) ;
  • 김성민 (경북대학교 경제통상학부)
  • Received : 2017.09.07
  • Accepted : 2017.12.01
  • Published : 2017.12.31

Abstract

This paper shows that when children's ability is heterogeneous, a parent's choices about educational expenditures and fertility follow a pooling equilibrium or a separating equilibrium. Which of the two equilibria will prevail depends on the probability of getting a high-ability child as well as productivity differentials in producing children's adult human capital. Adopting the model of Acemoglu's (1999), this paper presents that the outcome of the pooling choice in the pooling regime and the outcome of the separating choice in the separating regime make the growth rate of human capital higher than otherwise. In addition, as the probability of a high-ability child increases, the growth rate of human capital in the separating equilibrium exceeds that in the pooling equilibrium.

본 연구는 자녀의 학습능력이 다를 수 있음을 가정할 때 부모의 교육지출 수준과 자녀수 선택에서 자녀의 학습능력을 고려하지 않고서 동등 수준으로 교육에 투자하는 통합적 균형(pooling equilibrium)과 자녀의 학습능력에 따라 차등적으로 교육에 투자하는 분리적 균형(separating equilibrium)이 존재할 수 있음을 보여준다. 이러한 두 가지 균형중 어떠한 균형이 나타날지는 학습능력 차이에다 학습능력이 뛰어난 자녀를 가질 확률에 의존한다. 분석결과, 본 연구는 통합적 균형에서는 통합적 선택의 결과가, 분리적 균형에서는 분리적 선택의 결과가 그렇지 않은 경우에 비해 인적자본의 증가율이 더 높은 수준임을 보여주었다. 또한, 학습능력이 뛰어난 자녀를 가질 확률이 높아질수록 분리적 균형에서의 인적자본 증가율이 통합적 균형에서보다 높았다.

Keywords

References

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