The Impact of Parental Health Shocks on Child Schooling and Labour: Evidence From Thailand

This paper uses household panel data from the Thai Socio-Economic Surveys of 2012 and 2017 to examine the effects of parental health shocks on child education and labour. Three measures of parental health are analysed: chronic illness, hospitalisation, and functional health status. The results show that the parentʼs illness decreases school enrolment and leads to fewer years of education completed. Boys are less likely to have attended school if any parent was chronically ill or had any health problems. Parentsʼ chronic illness increases the probability of entering the labour force for youths aged 15 and over; however, only maternal illness increases their time spent at work. Additionally, parental illness significantly increases household health expenditures, but there is a significant decline in education expenditures. The results suggest that targeted government support to low-income families affected by major illnesses of parents could help them to maintain their children in school.