New Evidence of the Causal Effect of Family Size on Child Quality in a Developing Country

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Human Resources
Year: 2012
Volume: 47
Issue: 1

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper presents new evidence of the causal effect of family size on child quality in a developing-country context. We estimate the impact of family size on child labor and educational outcomes among Brazilian children and young adults by exploring the exogenous variation of family size driven by the presence of twins in the family. Using the Brazilian Census data for 1991, we find that the exogenous increase in family size is positively related to labor force participation for boys and girls and to household chores for young women. We also find negative effects on educational outcomes for boys and girls and negative impacts on human capital formation for young female adults. Moreover, we obtain suggestive evidence that credit and time constraints faced by poor families may explain the findings.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:uwp:jhriss:v:46:y:2012:i:1:p:64-106
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29