Lindert, Peter H. 1977. "Sibling Position and Achievement." Journal of Human Resources 12(2):198-219.

Past studies linking schooling and career attainment to sibling position (family size, birth order, spacing) are vulnerable to suspicions about omitted variables: being based on cross-sections of individuals from different families, they may have attributed to sibling position an influence belonging to unobserved parental attributes. This study retests the link between sibling position and achievement, using a cross-section of intrafamily sibling differences. The alleged link is confirmed. Further, its pattern is very consistent with the view that sibling position matters because of its straightforward effects on family time and commodity inputs into children.

The author is Associate Professor of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. I wish to thank the Rockefeller Foundation, the Population Council, the Institute for Research on Poverty of the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin Graduate School for financial support; Professors Kathryn E. Walker and Albert I. Hermalin for the Cornell time-use sample and the New Jersey sibling sample, respectively; John T. Soper and Nancy P. Williamson for expert computer programming; and Arleen Leibowitz, colleagues at Wisconsin, two anonymous referees, and the editor of this Journal for comments on earlier drafts. I am responsible for any remaining errors. A more detailed report of this study will be in my book, Fertility and Scarcity in America, to be published in 1977 by the Princeton University Press.

© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

US ISSN 0022-166X

Return to JHR Home Page