Assets, expectations, and children's educational achievement in female-headed households

This study examines the relationships of mother's assets (home ownership and savings) to, respectively, mother's expectations of child's educational achievement and child's actual educational outcomes in female-headed households. Analysis of data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) indicates that assets of single mothers are positively associated with child's educational achievement and that this relationship is partially mediated through expectations. Positive association of household income with child's outcomes occurs mainly through mother's assets. The study indicates that regression models that include income but not assets are underspecified. Results support expansion of asset-based policies for poor women with children.