The Long-Term Effect of Nonstandard Employment on Child Well-being: Evidence From Three Generations in Japan

Jia Wang , University of Wisconsin-Madison
James M M. Raymo, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Utilizing national dataset on adults and their children in Japan, a country characterized by a strong patriarchal culture and male breadwinner gender tradition, we examine the long-term effects of non-standard employment (NSE) of earlier generations – grandparents and parents – on children’s cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. We pay particular attention to potential differences between the effects of paternal and maternal grandparents’ NSE, and between the effects of grandfathers’ and grandmothers’ NSE on child outcomes in Japan’s distinctive gender context. Marginal structural models (MSM) will be used to solve the problem of time-varying confounders, such as parents’ income, working hours, and health. We expect 1) negative effects of NSE of both grandparents and parents on children’s outcomes; 2) stronger effects of paternal grandparents than maternal grandparents; 3) stronger effects of grandfathers than grandmothers; and 4) a multiplicative effect on children’s outcomes in families where both grandparents and parents have experienced NSE.

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 Presented in Session 4. Marriage, Family, Households, & Unions