Volume 32 - Article 51 | Pages 1409–1420
The causal effect of an additional sibling on completed fertility: An estimation of intergenerational fertility correlations by looking at siblings of twins
By Martin Kolk
Abstract
Background: Intergenerational transmission of fertility - a correlation between number of siblings and adult fertility - has been consistently demonstrated in developed countries. However, there is only limited knowledge of the causes of this correlation.
Objective: This study estimates the effect of an exogenous increase of number of siblings on adult fertility for men and women using Swedish register data. The effect of an additional sibling is estimated from the birth of younger twin siblings by means of instrumental variable methods.
Results: The study shows that there is no clear effect of an exogenous increase in the number of siblings on completed fertility. There is some evidence that an additional sibling is associated with lower fertility in adulthood.
Conclusions: The results indicate that intergenerational transmission of fertility is due to factors shared between parents and children such as preferences or socioeconomic status, not directly related to the size of the family of upbringing. There is no effect on fertility in adulthood of having an additional sibling per se.
Author's Affiliation
- Martin Kolk - Stockholms Universitet, Sweden EMAIL
Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research
Weak support for a U-shaped pattern between societal gender equality and fertility when comparing societies across time
Volume 40 - Article 2
Explaining Swedish sibling similarity in fertility: Parental fertility behavior vs. social background
Volume 39 - Article 32
Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research
The short- and long-term determinants of fertility in Uruguay
Volume 51 - Article 10
| Keywords:
fertility,
panel data,
stages of female reproductive life,
time series,
Uruguay
The big decline: Lowest-low fertility in Uruguay (2016–2021)
Volume 50 - Article 16
| Keywords:
adolescent fertility,
birth order,
fertility,
Latin America,
ultra-low fertility,
Uruguay
Cohort fertility of immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union
Volume 50 - Article 13
| Keywords:
age at first birth,
assimilation,
cohort analysis,
fertility,
immigration,
parity,
religiosity
Fertility decline, changes in age structure, and the potential for demographic dividends: A global analysis
Volume 50 - Article 9
| Keywords:
age structure,
demographic dividend,
demographic transition,
fertility,
migration,
population momentum,
working-age population
How do environmental stressors influence migration? A meta-regression analysis of environmental migration literature
Volume 50 - Article 2
| Keywords:
environmental,
instrumental variables,
meta analysis,
migration,
partial correlation coefficient,
weighted regression
Cited References: 27
Download to Citation Manager
PubMed
Google Scholar