The effect of family economic capital on the cognitive ability of migrant children in China

Abstract

The scale of migrant populations and the prevalence of family-based migration in China have sparked concerns about migrant children. After moving to the city, compared to loacl children, migrant children are at a disadvantage in terms of access to external educational resources and internal family education. It is thus of great academic and practical importance to explore the factors affecting the cognitive abilities of migrant children. Using the CFPS database in 2014, 2016, and 2018, this study investigates the effects and mechanisms of family economic capital on the cognitive ability of migrant children. The findings show that family economic capital greatly enhances the Chinese and Math performance of migrant children and that there is heterogeneity in the effect of family economic capital on the cognitive ability of migrant children attending key schools and non-key schools. In addition, the mediating effect model shows that family economic capital mainly influences the Chinese and Math scores of migrant children through mediating variables such as family education expenditure and parental involvement. At the same time, the results of the hierarchical linear model show that the regional education level has a significantly positive moderating effect on family education expenditure, while the moderating effect on parental involvement is not significant. Therefore, assisting migrant families to increase their financial resources, family educational expenditure, and family communication can contribute to their children's human capital development.