Individual Characteristics, Family Backgrounds, and Educational Outcomes of Taiwanese Junior High School Students — Panel Data Analysis

This paper investigates the associations between individual characteriatics, family backgrounds and educational outcomes for Taiwanese youths. The results show that observed and unobserved factors play a significant role on the early development of the youths. We find that the average size of the income of the family is a significant indicator of individual unobserved factors. After controlling for unobserved factors, parental education is positively associated with youths’ educational outcomes; while parental separation reveals a negative association. The father’s education shows a larger impacts on youths’ academic outcomes. We further identify the father’s economic and educational advantage as the main caues for a positive relationship between the youth’s educational outcome and having a mainlander father. Gender differences in educational outcomes vanished for the 1984–1985 birth corhort. Frequent attendance of religious activities when they were between ages 13 and 15 was a negative factor on the educational outcomes of the youths.