The early origins of birth order differences in children's outcomes and parental behavior

We document birth order differences in cognitive and noncognitive outcomes and maternal behavior from birth to adolescence using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79). As early as age one, later-born children score lower on cognitive tests than their siblings, and the gap increases...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lehmann, J.-Y.K (Author), Nuevo-Chiquero, A. (Author), Vidal-Fernandez, M. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Wisconsin Press 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:View Fulltext in Publisher
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020 |a 0022166X (ISSN) 
245 1 0 |a The early origins of birth order differences in children's outcomes and parental behavior 
260 0 |b University of Wisconsin Press  |c 2018 
856 |z View Fulltext in Publisher  |u https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.53.1.0816-8177 
520 3 |a We document birth order differences in cognitive and noncognitive outcomes and maternal behavior from birth to adolescence using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79). As early as age one, later-born children score lower on cognitive tests than their siblings, and the gap increases until school entry and remains statistically significant thereafter. Variations in parental behavior, such as cognitive stimulation by mothers, can explain a large portion of the birth order differences in cognitive abilities before school entry. Our findings suggest that broad shifts in parental behavior are plausible explanations for the observed birth order differences in education and labor market outcomes. © 2018 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. 
650 0 4 |a adolescence 
650 0 4 |a child 
650 0 4 |a cognition 
650 0 4 |a education 
650 0 4 |a labor market 
700 1 |a Lehmann, J.-Y.K.  |e author 
700 1 |a Nuevo-Chiquero, A.  |e author 
700 1 |a Vidal-Fernandez, M.  |e author 
773 |t Journal of Human Resources