The effect of household hospitalizations on the educational attainment of youth

• Hospitalization of student's household members lowers educational attainment.
• Hospitalization reduces HS completion, college attendance and BA completion.
• Negative hospitalization effects disproportionately experienced by oldest children.
• Negative hospitalization effects disproportionately experienced by male children.

We utilize data from the NLSY97 to investigate the effect of week-long hospitalizations of household members on the educational attainment of youth. These significant household health events could result in a combination of financial and time constraints on the household, limiting the educational opportunities available to survey respondents. We find that household hospitalizations lead to reductions in the likelihood of completing high school, attending college and completing a bachelor's degree. These negative effects are disproportionately experienced by male respondents. Respondents with higher pre-hospitalization ability appear to be insulated from these health events. Birth-order and the gender composition of siblings also appear to play a role. We find that the oldest children in the household bear the burden of a hospitalization, substantially lowering the educational attainment of these respondents, while insulating their younger siblings. Similarly, the presence of a brother appears to insulate respondents from the negative impacts of household hospitalizations.