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Sibling configurations, educational aspiration and attainment

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  • Bu, Feifei

Abstract

Previous studies have found that firstborn children enjoy a distinct advantage over their later- born counterparts in terms of educational attainment. This paper advances the state of knowledge in this area in two ways. First, it analyses the role of young people’s aspirations, estimating the effects of sibling configurations on adolescents’ educational aspirations, and the importance of these aspirations on later attainment. Second, it employs multilevel modelling techniques, using household-based data which include information on multiple children living in the same families. The paper finds that firstborn children have higher aspirations, and that these aspirations play a significant role in determining later levels of attainment. We also demonstrate a significant positive effect of age spacing on educational attainment.

Suggested Citation

  • Bu, Feifei, 2014. "Sibling configurations, educational aspiration and attainment," ISER Working Paper Series 2014-11, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:ese:iserwp:2014-11
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. ​Firstborn Girls Are More Likely To Succeed Than Familial Underlings
      by ? in Jezebel on 2014-04-27 22:00:00
    2. Firstborn girls most likely to succeed
      by ? in Scientific American Blog: Observations on 2014-05-02 00:24:00

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    Cited by:

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    2. Sandra E. Black & Erik Grönqvist & Björn Öckert, 2018. "Born to Lead? The Effect of Birth Order on Noncognitive Abilities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 274-286, May.
    3. Black, Sandra E. & Devereux, Paul J. & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2016. "Healthy(?), wealthy, and wise: Birth order and adult health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 27-45.
    4. Kim, Kyeongkuk & Lee, Sang-Hyop & Halliday, Timothy J., 2018. "The Betrayed Generation? Intra-Household Transfers and Retirement Behavior in South Korea," IZA Discussion Papers 11846, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Chris SAKELLARIOU & Fang ZHENG, 2014. "Returns to Schooling for Urban Residents and Migrants in China: New IV Estimates and a Comprehensive Investigation," Economic Growth Centre Working Paper Series 1407, Nanyang Technological University, School of Social Sciences, Economic Growth Centre.
    6. Kathrin Morosow & Martin Kolk, 2020. "How Does Birth Order and Number of Siblings Affect Fertility? A Within-Family Comparison Using Swedish Register Data," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(2), pages 197-233, April.

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