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PRE- AND POSTNATAL DRIVERS OF CHILDHOOD INTELLIGENCE: EVIDENCE FROM SINGAPORE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2012

GAIL PACHECO ,
MARY HEDGES ,
CHRIS SCHILLING  and
SUSAN MORTON
GAIL PACHECO
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
MARY HEDGES
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
CHRIS SCHILLING
Affiliation:
New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, Wellington, NZ
SUSAN MORTON
Affiliation:
School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Summary

This study seeks to investigate what influences intelligence in early childhood. The Singapore Cohort Study of the Risk Factors of Myopia (SCORM) is used to assess determinants of childhood IQ and changes in IQ. This longitudinal data set, collected in 1999, includes a wealth of demographic, socioeconomic and prenatal characteristics. The richness of the data allows various econometric approaches to be employed, including the use of ordered and multinomial logit analysis. Mother's education is found to be a consistent and key determinant of childhood IQ. Father's education and school quality are found to be key drivers for increasing IQ levels above the average sample movement.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 41 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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