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Highlights: [•] This paper examines returns to education in India for consumption and wages. [•] The returns appear high at the individual level for both men and women. [•] Yet comparing across cohorts the returns are low for men and zero for women. [•] The results are robust to measurement error and school quality. [•] There are higher returns in the regular wage market but that employs few people. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: This paper studies the relationship between mothers’ employment and children’s schooling in India. Using the second National Family Health Survey, the results of a multilevel probit model show that the correlation between mothers’ employment and their children’s schooling is negative. Women in poorer households are more likely to work but, given the negative correlation, their additional income does not seem sufficient to enable children’s school attendance. A sensitivity analysis on wealth deciles shows that this negative relationship disappears in urban areas and becomes weaker in rural areas at the top wealth deciles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]