The Interaction between Parents and Children: three Essays on Family Economics

Parent-child interactions play a key role in family wellbeing and have long-term effects on inequalities. Therefore, it is critical to analyze parent-child interactions over the life cycle. In this thesis, we examine the impact of parent-child interactions in China and the Netherlands, two countries that differ significantly in terms of their cultures and social welfare systems. Chapter 2 examines the effect of daycare use at age 0-2 on children’s cognitive abilities and self-assessed qualities at age 8 in the Netherlands. In Chapter 3, we examine the effect of parental housing wealth on children’s marriage prospects, focusing on the context of China. In Chapter 4, we investigate the effect of losing a child in China on parents’ physical health, mental health, and wellbeing later in life.