Parental Investment After the Birth of a Sibling: The Effect of Family Size in Low-Fertility China

Shuangye Chen
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引用次数: 16

Abstract

A large body of research has examined the relationship between family size and child well-being in developing countries, but most of this literature has focused on the consequences of high fertility. The impact of family size in a low-fertility developing country context remains unknown, even though more developing countries are expected to reach below-replacement fertility levels. Set in China between 2010 and 2016, this study examines whether an increase in family size reduces parental investment received by the firstborn child. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study improves on previous research by using direct measures of parental investment, including monetary and nonmonetary investment, and distinguishing household-level from child-specific resources. It also exploits the longitudinal nature of the CFPS to mediate the bias arising from the joint determination of family size and parental investment. Results show that having a younger sibling significantly reduces the average household expenditure per capita. It also directly reduces parental investment received by the firstborn child, with two exceptions: (1) for firstborn boys, having a younger sister does not pose any competition; and (2) for firstborn children whose mothers have completed primary education or more, having a younger brother does not reduce parental educational aspirations for them. Findings from this study provide the first glimpse into how children fare as China transitions to a universal two-child policy regime but have wider implications beyond the Chinese context.
兄弟姐妹出生后的亲代投资:低生育率中国家庭规模的影响
大量研究调查了发展中国家家庭规模和儿童福利之间的关系,但这些文献大多集中在高生育率的后果上。在低生育率的发展中国家,家庭规模的影响仍然未知,尽管预期更多的发展中国家将达到低于更替生育率的水平。本研究以2010年至2016年的中国为背景,研究了家庭规模的增加是否会减少长子获得的父母投资。本研究利用中国家庭面板研究(CFPS)的数据,通过使用亲代投资的直接衡量指标(包括货币和非货币投资)以及区分家庭层面和儿童层面的资源,在以往研究的基础上进行了改进。它还利用CFPS的纵向性质来调解由家庭规模和亲代投资共同决定产生的偏见。结果表明,有一个弟弟或妹妹会显著降低人均家庭支出。它还直接减少了长子获得的亲代投资,但有两个例外:(1)对于长子,有一个妹妹并不构成任何竞争;(2)对于母亲完成初等教育或以上的长子,有一个弟弟并不会降低父母对他们的教育愿望。这项研究的结果首次揭示了中国向全面二孩政策过渡时,儿童的生活状况,但其影响范围更广,超出了中国的范围。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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