Poverty exposure and cognitive abilities of children in rural China: Causation and the roles of family investments

Li, Yunsen; Yang, Haoran; Luo, Liang

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105747

Cited by 26Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSchool Choice and PerformanceIntergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies

Poverty exposure and cognitive abilities of children in rural China: Causation and the roles of family investments

Li, Yunsen, Yang, Haoran, Luo, Liang·2021·Children and Youth Services Review

DOI 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105747

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105747

Cites

49 of 49 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

A lack of sensitive scaffolding may result in a less stimulating context for cognitive development.
“a lack of sensitive scaffolding may result in a less stimulating context for cognitive development [16–19].”
From Socioeconomic position, family context, and child cognitive development (2024) · cites this paper as [17]

Male-female wage differentials in urban labor markets
Oaxaca, R. (1973) · International Economic Review · doi:10.2307/2525981 · Cited by 8,463 · see citing works
Wage discrimination: Reduced form and structural estimates
Blinder, A. S. (1973) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.2307/144855 · Cited by 6,922 · see citing works
EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
Coleman, J. S. (1968) · Equity & Excellence in Education · doi:10.1080/0020486680060504 · Cited by 5,326 · see citing works
Current patterns of parental authority.
Baumrind, D. (1971) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0030372 · Cited by 5,292 · see citing works
Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries
Grantham-McGregor, S., Cheung, Y. B., Cueto, S., Glewwe, P., Richter, L., & Strupp, B. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60032-4 · Cited by 3,630 · see citing works
Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children
Heckman, J. J. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1128898 · Cited by 3,559 · see citing works
Poverty impedes cognitive function.
Mani, A., Mullainathan, S., Shafir, E., & Zhao, J. (2013) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1238041 · Cited by 2,967 · see citing works
The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment
Chetty, R., Hendren, N., & Katz, L. F. (2016) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.20150572 · Cited by 2,315 · see citing works
The Blinder–Oaxaca Decomposition for Linear Regression Models
Jann, B. (2008) · The Stata Journal Promoting communications on statistics and Stata · doi:10.1177/1536867x0800800401 · Cited by 1,867 · see citing works
Sensitive periods in the development of the brain and behavior
Knudsen, E. I. (2004) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/0898929042304796 · Cited by 1,842 · see citing works
On discrimination and the decomposition of wage differentials
Oaxaca, R. L., & Ransom, M. R. (1994) · Journal of Econometrics · doi:10.1016/0304-4076(94)90074-4 · Cited by 1,663 · see citing works
Some Consequences of Having Too Little
Shah, A. K., Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2012) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1222426 · Cited by 1,567 · see citing works
Socioeconomic status and the developing brain
Hackman, D. A., & Farah, M. J. (2009) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.003 · Cited by 1,556 · see citing works
Equality of Educational Opportunity.
Pfautz, H. W., Coleman, J. S., Campbell, E. Q., Hobson, C. J., McPartland, J. C., Mood, A. M., Weinfeld, F. D., & York, R. L. (1967) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2091096 · Cited by 1,278 · see citing works
The Home Environments of Children in the United States Part I: Variations by Age, Ethnicity, and Poverty Status
Bradley, R. H., CORWYN, R. F., McAdoo, H. P., & Coll, C. G. (2001) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00382 · Cited by 1,222 · see citing works
Socioeconomic gradients predict individual differences in neurocognitive abilities.
Noble, K. G., McCandliss, B. D., & Farah, M. J. (2007) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00600.x · Cited by 1,041 · see citing works
SCHOOLS, SKILLS, AND SYNAPSES
Heckman, J. J. (2008) · Economic Inquiry · doi:10.1111/j.1465-7295.2008.00163.x · Cited by 1,026 · see citing works
Is China Abolishing the Hukou System?
Chan, K. W., & Buckingham, W. (2008) · The China Quarterly · doi:10.1017/s0305741008000787 · Cited by 1,009 · see citing works
THE SHORT-TERM IMPACT OF UNCONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFERS TO THE POOR: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM KENYA
Haushofer, J., & Shapiro, J. P. (2016) · Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1093/qje/qjw025 · Cited by 948 · see citing works
Food Insufficiency and American School-Aged Children's Cognitive, Academic, and Psychosocial Development
Alaimo, K., Olson, C. M., & Frongillo, E. A. (2001) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.108.1.44 · Cited by 902 · see citing works
The household registration system and social stratification in China: 1955–1996
Wu, X., & Treiman, D. J. (2004) · Demography · doi:10.1353/dem.2004.0010 · Cited by 748 · see citing works
Childhood poverty, chronic stress, and adult working memory
Evans, G. W., & Schamberg, M. A. (2009) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0811910106 · Cited by 724 · see citing works
Household Choices and Child Development
Boca, D. D., Flinn, C. J., & Wiswall, M. (2013) · The Review of Economic Studies · doi:10.1093/restud/rdt026 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
The Economics and Psychology of Inequality and Human DEvelopment
Cunha, F., & Heckman, J. J. (2009) · Journal of the European Economic Association · doi:10.1162/jeea.2009.7.2-3.320 · Cited by 407 · see citing works
Poverty and Aspirations Failure
Dalton, P. S., Ghosal, S., & Mani, A. (2014) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/ecoj.12210 · Cited by 403 · see citing works
How the Allocation of Children’s Time Affects Cognitive and Noncognitive Development
Fiorini, M., & Keane, M. P. (2014) · Journal of Labor Economics · doi:10.1086/677232 · Cited by 358 · see citing works
Parenting With Style: Altruism and Paternalism in Intergenerational Preference Transmission
Doepke, M., & Zilibotti, F. (2017) · Econometrica · doi:10.3982/ecta14634 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
The quantity-Quality trade-Off of children In a developing country: Identification using chinese twins
Li, H., Zhang, J., & Zhu, Y. (2008) · Demography · doi:10.1353/dem.2008.0006 · Cited by 346 · see citing works
Nutritional status, the capacity for work, and poverty traps
Dasgupta, P. S. (1997) · Journal of Econometrics · doi:10.1016/s0304-4076(96)01804-0 · Cited by 307 · see citing works
A Stata implementation of the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition
Jann, B. (2008) · BORIS (University Library Bern) · doi:10.7892/boris.69448 · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes
Bono, E. D., Francesconi, M., Kelly, Y. J., & Sacker, A. (2016) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/ecoj.12342 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Reformed Migration Control and New Targeted People: China's Hukou System in the 2000s
Wang, F.-L. (2004) · The China Quarterly · doi:10.1017/s0305741004000074 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
The Economics of Parenting
Doepke, M., Sorrenti, G., & Zilibotti, F. (2019) · Annual Review of Economics · doi:10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030156 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Race, Family Income, and Low Birth Weight
Starfield, B. H., Shapiro, S., Weiß, J., Liang, K., Ra, K., Paige, D. M., & Wang, X. (1991) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116020 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
The Long-Term Follow-Up of Severely Malnourished Children Who Participated in an Intervention Program
Grantham‐McGregor, S., Powell, C. A., Walker, S., Chang-Lopez, S. M., & Fletcher, P. R. (1994) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1994.tb00761.x · Cited by 139 · see citing works
China’s Invisible Crisis: Cognitive Delays among Rural Toddlers and the Absence of Modern Parenting
Yue, A., Shi, Y., Luo, R., Chen, J. M., Garth, J., Zhang, J., Alexis Medina, D., Kotb, S., & Rozelle, S. (2017) · The China Journal · doi:10.1086/692290 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Persistent Poverty in Rural China: Where, Why, and How to Escape?
Glauben, T., Herzfeld, T., Rozelle, S., & Wang, X. (2011) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2011.09.023 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Decomposing malnutrition inequalities between Scheduled Castes and Tribes and the remaining Indian population
de Poel, E. V., & Speybroeck, N. (2009) · Ethnicity and Health · doi:10.1080/13557850802609931 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
A semiparametric model for binary response and continuous outcomes under index heteroscedasticity
Klein, R. W., & Vella, F. (2009) · Journal of Applied Econometrics · doi:10.1002/jae.1064 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
The Gender Pension Gap in China
Zhao, R. L., & Zhao, Y. (2018) · Feminist Economics · doi:10.1080/13545701.2017.1411601 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Academic Achievement of Low Birthweight Children at Age 11: The Role of Cognitive Abilities at School Entry
Breslau, N., Johnson, E. O., & Lucia, V. C. (2001) · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · doi:10.1023/a:1010396027299 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Poverty, food insecurity and nutritional deprivation in rural China: Implications for children's literacy achievement
Hannum, E. C., Liu, J., & Frongillo, E. A. (2012) · International Journal of Educational Development · doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.07.003 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Parental Guidance and Supervised Learning*
Lizzeri, A., & Siniscalchi, M. (2008) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/qjec.2008.123.3.1161 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
How and why do Chinese urban students outperform their rural counterparts?
Zhao, G., Ye, J., Li, Z., & Xue, S. (2017) · China Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2017.06.006 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Do tiger moms raise superior kids? The impact of parenting style on adolescent human capital formation in China
Zhang, H., Qin, X., & Zhou, J. (2020) · China Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2020.101537 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Informal search, bad search?: the effects of job search method on wages among rural migrants in urban China
Chen, Y., Wang, L., & Zhang, M. (2017) · Journal of Population Economics · doi:10.1007/s00148-017-0672-x · Cited by 36 · see citing works
The Economics of Parenting
Doepke, M., Sorrenti, G., & Zilibotti, F. (2019) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w25533 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Early poverty exposure predicts young adult educational outcomes in China
Liu, X., & Hannum, E. C. (2017) · China Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2017.03.006 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
APEX: QUALITY INTEGRATED CLASSES IN LOS ANGELES HIGH SCHOOLS
Gregg, J. S. (1968) · Equity & Excellence in Education · doi:10.1080/0020486680060603 · Cited by 19 · see citing works

Flagged first, then by citations

Sorted by citations

Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
Cheng, L., Yu, Y., Wang, Y., & Zheng, L. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1162916 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Has energy poverty entangled the households by hindering the filial generation?
Wang, Y., & Du, Z. (2024) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114018 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Socioeconomic position, family context, and child cognitive development
González, L., Popovic, M., Rebagliato, M., Estarlich, M., Moirano, G., Barreto-Zarza, F., Richiardi, L., Arranz, E., Santa-Marina, L., Zugna, D., et al. (2024) · European Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1007/s00431-024-05482-x · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“This family dynamic and the perception of the quality of the neighbourhood wherein the family is located [17, 20] are considered family investments [19].”
Background
Cognitive ability and locus of control: the effect of parental involvement on the academic performance of elementary and secondary school students
Yang, F., Qian, Y., & Xia, Z. (2023) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04572-7 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Assessing the Impact of Institutional Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation, and Social Enterprise on Poverty Alleviation: Insights From South Asian Economies
Ayoungman, F. Z., Shawon, A. H., & Sohail, A. (2025) · Sustainable Development · doi:10.1002/sd.3419 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
School nutritious feeding and cognitive abilities of students in poverty: Evidence from the nutrition improvement program in China
Zhao, C., Chen, B., & Song, Z. (2024) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107519 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Maternal warmth moderates the longitudinal associations of family economic pressure with early reading and writing skills among Chinese children
Lam, C. B., & Chung, K. K. H. (2022) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102246 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Private Educational Expenditure Inequality between Migrant and Urban Households in China’s Cities
Chen, Y., Sălăgean, I., & Zou, B. (2024) · Economies · doi:10.3390/economies12100277 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Unveiling the role of early child development in preventing poverty transmission in deep poverty-stricken areas of RuralChina
Li, L., Li, Y., Shi, J., Li, X., Liu, H., & Zhu, L. (2025) · Journal of Rural Studies · doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103577 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Self-citation
Creating a Healthy Environment for Children: GIS Tools for Improving the Quality of the Social Welfare Management System
Źróbek-Różańska, A., Ogryzek, M. P., & Źróbek-Sokolnik, A. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19127128 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Like parent, like offspring: Intergenerational association of parental scarcity mindset with offspring's cooperative behaviors
Zheng, L., Peng, B., Ye, C., Zhang, X., Qi, W., & Miao, M. (2023) · PsyCh Journal · doi:10.1002/pchj.642 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Individual, Family, and Community Transformations through Opportuni-ties Facilitated by Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
Narsico, P. G., Narsico, L. O., & Rio, R. B. (2024) · International Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Business and Education Research · doi:10.11594/ijmaber.05.08.33 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Visuospatial and Visuomotor Abilities of Individuals with Neurofibromatosis Type 1: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Yu, L., Liu, D., Payne, J. M., Zhang, J., Moreira, J., Mukhopadhyay, E. S., Novotney, A., Chown, M.-M., Killam, J., & Hou, Y. (2025) · Neuropsychology Review · doi:10.1007/s11065-025-09673-7 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Attention network training promotes selective attention of children with low socioeconomic status
Xia, R., Zhao, X., Liu, Y., Dou, Y., Shu, Z., Ding, X., Zhou, X., Han, J., & Zhao, X. (2023) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105807 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Expectations of Educational Continuity among Beneficiary Families of the Indonesian Conditional Cash Transfer (PKH): A Case Study in Tabuan Island, Tanggamus Regency
Nugroho, S., Listyaningsih, U., & Pitoyo, A. J. (2023) · Populasi · doi:10.22146/jp.92552 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The effects of Dibao programme on adolescent academic performance: evidence from seventh-grade students in China
Dong, Z., Jiang, L., & Han, H.-W. (2024) · Journal of Asian Public Policy · doi:10.1080/17516234.2024.2391935 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Digital Literacy Skills and Digital Financial Inclusion toward Socio-Economic Development : A proposed framework
Nazim, N. I. I. M., Shuhidan, S. M., Hashim, H., & Rahman, M. S. (2025) · Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal · doi:10.21834/e-bpj.v10isi27.6829 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
From financial scarcity to risk and time preferences: the role of executive functions
Huang, J., & Haibo, Z. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1782444 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Financial decision-making, income, cognitive biases: The impact of economic systems and environments on behavior in six countriesPreprint
Ruggeri, K., Landini, G. A. R., Büsch, K., Cafarelli, V., Doubravová, B., Gürol, D. M., Miralem, M., Nilsson, F., Ashcroft-Jones, S., & Stock, F. (2024) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/f8hyk · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Science readiness of the first year BSMLS students: Basis for an intervention activity
Paranada, J. A. R., & Florentino, C. M. (2025) · Multidisciplinary Science Journal · doi:10.31893/multiscience.2026294
Reliability Analysis on Digital Literacy Skills, Digital Financial Inclusion and Socio-Economic Development Among B40 in Selangor
Nazim, N. I. I. M., Shuhidan, S. M., Hashim, H., Baharuddin, M. F. B., Winoto, Y., & Rahman, M. S. (2025) · Journal of Information and Knowledge Management · doi:10.24191/jikm.v15i2.6012
Evaluation of the Family Hope Program (PKH) to Improving Education Access of Poor Households in Balikpapan City
Hamida, R. W., & Tubangsa, I. (2025) · Journal of Governance and Social Policy · doi:10.24815/gaspol.v6i2.32
The influence mechanism of family capital on children's academic performance in Western Chinese counties: The mediating effect of family educational investment
Ren, Y., Zhu, L., Jin, X., & Yang, Z. (2026) · British Educational Research Journal · doi:10.1002/berj.70214
Internet use and cognitive development among rural adolescents in China: The moderating roles of parental supervision
He, Z., & Zhu, Q. (2026) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.109180
Building Reading Literacy through an Extensive Reading Approach at SD N Sumberwatu, Prambanan Sleman
Ardianto, P., Paradita, L. I., Kusuma, D. K. W., Marpaung, R., & Yuspayanti (2026) · Proceeding International Conference of Community Service
Socioeconomic Status as a Predictor of Cognitive and Creative Abilities in Adolescents
Ferrándo, M., Parra, R. M. P., & García, C. F. (2026) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci16111818

Family poverty and adolescents’ cognitive and noncognitive outcomes: Evidence from China
Chen, J., & Zhang, Z. (2024) · Economics & Human Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101402 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Family Poverty and Child Development: Evidence from ChinaPreprint
Chen, J. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4726451
Multidimensional poverty and early cognitive development in rural China: The roles of family investment and spatial remoteness
Li, L., Yuheng, L. I., Huang, L., Li, Y., Wang, D., & Sun, J. (2026) · Journal of Rural Studies · doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2026.104434
Self-citation
Parental Socioeconomic Status and Children's Cognitive Ability in China
Xu, H., Zhang, Z., & Zhao, Z. (2022) · Journal of Asian Economics · doi:10.1016/j.asieco.2022.101579 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Does parents’ cognitive ability affect household educational investment? Evidence from Chinese families with left behind children
Wang, Y., Peng, C., & Cai, S. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0286987 · Cited by 6 · see citing works

Authors: Li, Y., Yang, H., & Luo, L.
Affiliations: Southwest University of Political Science & Law (CN)
Beijing Normal University (CN)
Corresponding author: Li, Yunsen
ORCID: Li, Yunsen
Luo, Liang
Venue: Children and Youth Services Review
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2021-02
Volume: 121
Pages: 105747
ISSN: 0190-7409 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105747
OpenAlex: W3110032245
Cited by: 24
References: 49
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2
FWCI: 2.38
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
Locations: Children and Youth Services Review (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China
China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education of China
Chongqing Municipal Education Commission
Topics: Social Sciences › Safety Research › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
Keywords: household poverty, children's cognitive abilities, education funding, parental educational expectations, permissive parenting, rural children, cognitive gap, rural China

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Poverty exposure and cognitive abilities of children in rural China: Causation and the roles of family investments

Integrity signals

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Cites

Cited by

Related

Record

About these checks