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.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 6755

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Demographic Economics: General
Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
Education and Inequality
Thema
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

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Lehmann, Jee-Yeon K.
Nuevo-Chiquero, Ana
Vidal-Fernández, Marian
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
(wo)
Bonn
(wann)
2012

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:43 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
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Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Lehmann, Jee-Yeon K.
  • Nuevo-Chiquero, Ana
  • Vidal-Fernández, Marian
  • Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Entstanden

  • 2012

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