@article{1073b39f6c9e4634b110fca49125bb67,
title = "Parental guidance and supervised learning",
abstract = "We propose a simple theoretical model of supervised learning that is potentially useful to interpret a number of empirical phenomena relevant to the nature-nurture debate. The model captures a basic trade-off between sheltering the child from the consequences of his mistakes and allowing him to learn from experience. We characterize the optimal parenting policy and its comparative-statics properties. We then show that key features of the optimal policy can be useful to interpret provocative findings from behavioral genetics.",
author = "Alessandro Lizzeri and Marciano Siniscalchi",
note = "Funding Information: ∗We thank Daron Acemoglu, Joe Altonji, Greg Duncan, and Jim Heckman, as well as Ed Glaeser and three anonymous referees. Financial support from NSF Grants SES-0452317 (Lizzeri) and SES-0453088 (Siniscalchi) is gratefully acknowledged. Aaron Hauptmann provided excellent research assistance. 1. For some history on this debate, see Pinker (2002). 2. For an overview of this literature, see Plomin et al. (2001) or Reiss et al. (2000). 3. See, for instance, Harris (1995, 1998). Pinker (2002) and Ridley (2003), who have popularized the findings of behavioral genetics, take a similar view.",
year = "2008",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1162/qjec.2008.123.3.1161",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "123",
pages = "1161--1195",
journal = "Quarterly Journal of Economics",
issn = "0033-5533",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "3",
}