Can family characteristics influence the future labor situation of children? Evidence for Spain

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze whether family support, measured through the labor status of parents and the presence of both parents in the household during adolescence, may be an important determinant of unemployment in Spain.Design/methodology/approachTo address this issue, we follow the Quantity-Quality model of Becker–Lewis (Becker and Lewis, 1973), using data from the Survey of Living Conditions (2011).FindingsFirst, the results show that individuals living with both parents at home during their teenage years are less likely to be unemployed in the future. Second, the authors find evidence of the intergenerational transmission of unemployment outcomes, and that the unemployment status of the mother is strongly transferred to the child. Additionally, the authors extend this work to an analysis of other labor characteristics, finding that family support is an important determinant of self-employment and temporary employment. The findings are robust to controls for observable and unobservable characteristics by region, and to the use of different subsamples.Originality/valueThis study can be considered as first evidence of the effect of family support during adolescence on the Spanish labor market.