Understanding Sibling Influences: The Effects of Number and Sex of Siblings on Educational Outcomes

摘要

This study attempts to re-examine the impact of siblings on the education of men and women resembling the study done by Butcher and Case (1994). Additionally, I extend the analysis to examine the effect of sibling sex composition on individual’s college major choices using data from Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WSL). The OLS regression result indicates that opposite sex siblings are more harmful to years of education compared to same sex siblings for both men and women. My findings suggest that additional sisters significantly reduce years of education more for men than the effects of additional sisters for women. Sibling sex composition does not affect an individual’s choices of major fields. This result shows that the decision on major fields reflects most likely the preferences of the student rather than influences of their social environment.