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Quantity–Quality Trade-Off and Early Childhood Development in Rural Family: Evidence from China’s Guizhou Province

Author

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  • Jingdong Zhong

    (School of Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Jingjing Gao

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Chengfang Liu

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Jie Huang

    (School of Economics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China)

  • Renfu Luo

    (China Center for Agricultural Policy, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    School of Economics and Management, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China)

Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the causal effect of having siblings on the cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional skills of infants under the age of 2 in rural families in Guizhou Province in China. The results are based on data from a survey conducted in 2017. To effectively relieve the endogeneity induced by selection bias, we applied the matching-smoothing (MS) method to evaluate the effects of having siblings. The results show that, first, having siblings produces significant negative impacts on an infant’s cognitive, language, and social-emotional skills; second, intrahousehold resource allocation is the mechanism behind the Quantity–Quality (Q–Q) trade-off, and it exerts its effects through two key identified channels—the home environment and parental warmth. By spreading the parents’ investment among siblings in terms of both the home environment and parental warmth, having siblings hinders infants’ early development. Our findings provide new evidence for the relation between the Q–Q trade-off and early childhood development in rural families in western China.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingdong Zhong & Jingjing Gao & Chengfang Liu & Jie Huang & Renfu Luo, 2019. "Quantity–Quality Trade-Off and Early Childhood Development in Rural Family: Evidence from China’s Guizhou Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-29, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:7:p:1307-:d:222026
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    Cited by:

    1. Jingdong Zhong & Yang He & Yuting Chen & Renfu Luo, 2020. "Relationships between Parenting Skills and Early Childhood Development in Rural Households in Western China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-10, February.
    2. Saishuang Wu & Donglan Zhang & Xinyue Li & Jin Zhao & Xiaoning Sun & Lu Shi & Yuping Mao & Yunting Zhang & Fan Jiang, 2022. "Siblings and Early Childhood Development: Evidence from a Population-Based Cohort in Preschoolers from Shanghai," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-12, May.

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