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All for One? Family Size and Children's Educational Distribution under Credit Constraints

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  • Jeanne Lafortune
  • Soohyung Lee

Abstract

This paper examines the possibility that a child's years of schooling could increase in the number of siblings, instead of being diminished by competition for parents' resources: if unable to finance the education of their younger children, parents may do so through their older children's labor income. We examine this possibility in a model combining convex returns to education and credit constraints. Our model predicts correlations among family size, years of schooling and birth order, which would not exist when either of these two elements is absent. Empirical patterns shown in the United States, Mexico, and South Korea support the model predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeanne Lafortune & Soohyung Lee, 2014. "All for One? Family Size and Children's Educational Distribution under Credit Constraints," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 365-369, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:5:p:365-69
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.5.365
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Lucio Esposito & Sunil Mitra Kumar & Adrián Villaseñor, 2020. "The importance of being earliest: birth order and educational outcomes along the socioeconomic ladder in Mexico," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 1069-1099, July.
    3. Ahmed Elsayed & Olivier Marie, 2020. "Less School (Costs), More (Female) Education? Lessons from Egypt Reducing Years of Compulsory Schooling," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 20-037/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    4. Shuang Chen, 2020. "Parental Investment After the Birth of a Sibling: The Effect of Family Size in Low-Fertility China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2085-2111, December.
    5. Pauline Morault, 2017. "Arranged Marriages under Transferable Utilities," Working Papers halshs-01537971, HAL.
    6. Tien Manh Vu & Hisakazu Matsushige, 2016. "Gender, Sibling Order, and Differences in the Quantity and Quality of Education: Evidence from Japanese Twins," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 147-170, June.
    7. Kim, Jun Hyung & Wang, Shaoda, 2021. "Birth Order Effects, Parenting Style, and Son Preference," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1007, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Jane Arnold Lincove & Adam Parker, 2016. "The influence of conditional cash transfers on eligible children and their siblings," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 352-373, August.
    9. Andra Hiriscau & Mihaela Pintea, 2022. "Birth Order, Socioeconomic Background and Educational Attainment," Working Papers 2203, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    10. Pauline Morault, 2017. "Arranged Marriages under Transferable Utilities," SciencePo Working papers Main halshs-01537971, HAL.
    11. Corradini, Viola & Buccione, Giulia, 2023. "Unilateral divorce rights, domestic violence and women’s agency: Evidence from the Egyptian Khul reform," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    12. Maximilian Schwefer, 2018. "Birth Order Effects and Educational Achievement in the Developing World," ifo Working Paper Series 282, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    13. Marion Dovis & Patricia Augier & Clémentine Sadania, 2021. "Labor Market Shocks and Youths’ Time Allocation in Egypt: Where Does Women’s Empowerment Come In?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 69(4), pages 1501-1540.
    14. Andersen, Dana C. & Gunes, Pinar Mine, 2023. "Birth Order Effects in the Developed and Developing World: Evidence from International Test Scores," IZA Discussion Papers 15931, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Heather Congdon Fors & Annika Lindskog, 2023. "Within‐family inequalities in human capital accumulation in India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 3-28, February.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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