Arbeitspapier
Explaining the birth order effect: The role of prenatal and early childhood investments
The critical role of prenatal and early childhood conditions on adult outcomes has been the focus of a rich body of research. In this paper, we examine various pre- and postnatal investments as possible sources behind the birth order effect - significant differences in the educational and labor market outcomes across children of varying birth orders. Taking advantage of a rich set of information on in utero and early childhood conditions in the Children of the NLSY79, we find that, within the same household, siblings of higher birth order experience a lower reduction in cigarette usage during pregnancy, are breastfed less often, and experience less cognitive stimulation and emotional support at ages 0 to 1. Next, we test for the presence of birth order effects in early cognitive and non-cognitive test scores and examine whether these differences can be explained by variations in prenatal and early childhood investments. Although there exists a significant negative relationship between birth order and early cognitive/non-cognitive test scores, the size and the significance of the negative birth order effects in test scores and educational attainment are robust to controlling for variations in early childhood factors.
- Language
-
Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
-
Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 6755
- Classification
-
Wirtschaft
Demographic Economics: General
Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
Education and Inequality
- Subject
-
birth order
early test scores
parental investment
prenatal investment
postnatal investment
early childhood investment
fetal origins hypothesis
cognitive outcomes
non-cognitive outcomes
Schwangerschaft
Kinderbetreuung
Frühkindliche Bildung
Kinder
Kognition
USA
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Lehmann, Jee-Yeon K.
Nuevo-Chiquero, Ana
Vidal-Fernández, Marian
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
-
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
- (where)
-
Bonn
- (when)
-
2012
- Handle
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Lehmann, Jee-Yeon K.
- Nuevo-Chiquero, Ana
- Vidal-Fernández, Marian
- Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Time of origin
- 2012
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