Brothers are Better: The Effect of Sibling Sex Composition on Women's Schooling, Health, Earnings, and Labor Supply
Posted: 9 Jun 2015 Last revised: 21 Oct 2015
Date Written: February 23, 2015
Abstract
Using a twin research design that exploits exogenous gender variation in dizygotic twins, this paper credibly identifies the effect of sibling sex composition on schooling, earnings, health, and labor supply. Women born with a male co-twin have higher earnings, schooling, labor force participation, and better health than women born with a female co-twin. Men born with a female co-twin, on the other hand, have higher rates of ever smoking but differences on all other outcomes are statistically indistinguishable from zero. Family characteristics provide a limited explanation of the sibling sex composition effect.
Keywords: sibling sex composition, gender, human capital, twins, earnings, labor supply, schooling, health, mental health, physical health, smoking, obesity
JEL Classification: D13; I12; I21; J13; J16
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