Abstract

We analyze how children with mental disabilities influence parental portfolio allocation. We find that risky asset holding decreases among households with special needs children. However, conditional on participating in financial markets, households with special needs children invest a larger portion of their wealth in risky assets. As risky asset holding is a key component of wealth building, these findings have important implications for both policy and household wealth inequality.

Recommended citation: Bogan, Vicki L., and Jose M. Fernandez. 2017. "How Children with Mental Disabilities Affect Household Investment Decisions." American Economic Review, 107 (5): 536–40.
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