ERIC Number: EJ750952
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 17
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-166X
EISSN: N/A
The Impacts of Family Size on Investment in Child Quality
Caceres-Delpiano, Julio
Journal of Human Resources, v41 n4 p738-754 Fall 2006
Using multiple births as an exogenous shift in family size, I investigate the impact of the number of children on child investment and child well-being. Using data from the 1980 US Census Five-Percent Public Use Micro Sample, 2SLS results demonstrate that parents facing a change in family size reallocate resources in a way consistent with Becker's Quantity & Quality model. A larger family generated by twins in a later birth reduces the likelihood that older children attend private school, reduces the mother's labor force participation, and increases the likelihood that parents divorce. The impact of family size on a measure of child outcome, such as grade retention, is less clear. The results indicate that for both measures of child investment and child well-being, the 2SLS estimates are statistically distinguishable from OLS estimates, indicating an omitted variables bias in the single equation model. (Contains 7 tables and 13 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Private Schools, Labor Force Nonparticipants, Labor Force, Grade Repetition, Family Size, Well Being, Family (Sociological Unit), Twins, Birth Order, Academic Achievement, Children, Adolescents, Divorce, Resource Allocation
University of Wisconsin Press. 1930 Monroe Street, Madison, WI 53711-2059. Tel: 608-263-0668; Fax: 608-263-1173; e-mail: journals@uwpress.wisc.edu; Web site: http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A