In many markets, home prices will recover and employment will bounce back to historical norms, but the impacts of the “Great Recession” will have lingering impacts on families and children, Canadian economist Miles Corak blogs.
Family income over 10 years can predict the adult incomes of children, Corak says. Not only are some children living in poorer families — meaning their own earning prospects are probably already diminished — but those who have been victims of foreclosure “also face the disruptions associated with changing schools, neighborhoods, and even cities. Frequent moves and a repeated loss of friends and networks lowers high school graduation rates and the adult incomes kids will ultimately earn.”
It gets worse: Corak cites a study by researchers at Columbia University and the London School of Economics showing an association between a drop in consumer confidence and a sixfold increase between 2007 and 2010 in the chances that mothers will hit their children frequently.
“Financial strain, whether subjective or not, taxes the energies of parents, and raises the likelihood of ‘authoritarian’ behavior, which involves strict adherence to rules, and unfair punishment to enforce them,” he concludes. Source: milescorak.com