Effect of father's education on child's cognitive ability

Abstract

In studying the effect of father's education on child's cognitive ability, we find that some models of analysis yield a negative effect, which does not seem plausible according to our current understanding of the nature of the two variables. Two new models are proposed to take account of the biological relationships between parents and children. The analyses based on these new models show a positive effect of father's education on child's IQ scores. While the results of the proposed models become more plausible, it cannot be claimed as “correct,” because there is no conclusive and permanent “proof in empirical sciences.