Sibling gender composition’s effect on education: evidence from China

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Population Economics
Year: 2017
Volume: 30
Issue: 2
Pages: 569-590

Authors (4)

Xiaoyan Lei (not in RePEc) Yan Shen (not in RePEc) James P. Smith Guangsu Zhou (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

Abstract We use a population survey of the Chinese adult population—2010 Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) modeled after the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We find that being the oldest child gives an education benefit to male and not female children who are often assigned supervisory roles for younger siblings. Most importantly, an increase in the fraction of female siblings leads to a significant increase in education of Chinese men and to a lesser extent Chinese women. This effect is concentrated among those with rural Hukou. In China, male children absorbed more education resources so that in a credit constrained family, increases in fraction of siblings who are sisters frees up resources for educating boys. This is less so for girls since their education was lower and additional resources would not be used for them.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:spr:jopoec:v:30:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s00148-016-0614-z
Journal Field
Growth
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-29