Volume 23 - Article 21 | Pages 587–614
Siblings and human capital: A comparison between Italy and France
| Date received: | 16 Sep 2009 |
| Date published: | 14 Sep 2010 |
| Word count: | 7745 |
| Keywords: | causal analysis, dilution effect, education, family size, siblings |
| DOI: | 10.4054/DemRes.2010.23.21 |
| Weblink: | You will find all publications in this Special Collection “Social Mobility and Demographic Behaviour: A Long-Term Perspective” at http://www.demographic-research.org/special/10/ |
Abstract
This paper investigates how family size affects children’s human capital, comparing Italy and France. We tested the dilution effect in these countries, starting with the assumption that the higher the number of siblings, the fewer parental resources are available for each child, and the lower the probability that each child will successfully pursue his/her educational career. We find a negative correlation between the number of siblings and human capital. However, when the analysis is developed with a causal approach, the strength of the dilution effect weakens in Italy and disappears in France.
Author's Affiliation
Giulia Ferrari - Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED), France
Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna - Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD), Italy
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