Birth order and child outcomes: does maternal quality time matter?

Higher birth order positions are often associated with poorer outcomes, possibly due to fewer resources received within the household. Using a sample of PSID-CDS children, we investigate whether the birth order effects in their outcomes are due to unequal allocation of the particular resource represented by maternal quality time. OLS regressions show that the negative birth order effects on various test scores are only slightly diminished when maternal time is included among the regressors. This result is confirmed when we account for unobserved heterogeneity at the household level, exploiting the presence of siblings in the data. Our evidence therefore suggests that birth order effects are not due to differences in maternal quality time received

Better Wed Over the Mixen Than Over The Moor? Break-ups of Inter-Ethnic Marriages In Italy

This paper studies the resilience of inter-ethnic marriages in Italy through the lenses of marriage duration by means of survival and treatment-effect analyses. Our main findings are that inter-ethnic marriages have a significantly higher risk of separation even when we control for social and economic characteristics of the spouses; however, when we restrict the analysis to more recent marriages, we observe that co- and inter-ethnic marriages converge in longevity. Finally, we find evidence of self-selection into inter-ethnic marriages. Overall our findings points to a society that is becoming increasingly open to cultural and ethnic diversity, as well as more secular

Early Childcare Duration and Students' Later Outcomes in Europe

The importance of investment in early childhood education (ECE) has been widely documented in the literature. Among the benefits, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, is its potential to mitigate educational inequality. However, some evidence also suggests that the positive effects of ECE on later outcomes tend to dissipate over time, leaving children who attended such programmes no better off academically than those who did not. This paper studies the relationship between students’ years spent in ECE and the results of their educational assessment outcomes at age 15.Using PISA survey data for fourteen European countries from 2015 and 2018, we conduct a cross-country comparison of student performance in reading, mathematics, and science, correlating the results to early childcare and pre-primary school attendance. Our findings show that participation in early childcare is associated with better assessments at age 15, but that the benefit is nonlinear and peaks at 3-4 years of childcare attendance. Examination of gender heterogeneity patterns reveals differences in girls’ and boys’ performance on the assessments; however, there are no gender differences in the relationship between childcare participation and test outcomes. We also explore differences related to the type of educational system attended and find distinct results for the unitary and separate settings

Early Childhood Education Attendance and Students’ Later Outcomes in Europe

The importance of investments in early childhood education (ECE) has been widely documented in the literature. Among the benefits, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, is its potential to mitigate educational inequality. However, some evidence also suggests that the positive effects of ECE on later outcomes tend to dissipate over time, leaving children who attended such programmes no better off academically than those who did not. This paper studies the relationship between students’ years spent in ECE, from 0 to before starting primary school, and the results of their educational assessment outcomes at age 15. Using PISA survey data for 14 European countries from 2015 to 2018, we conduct a cross-country comparison of student performance in reading, mathematics, and science, correlating the results to the duration of ECE attendance. Our findings show that duration in ECE is associated with better assessments at age 15, but that the benefit is nonlinear and peaks at 3–4 years of attendance. Gender and migration background are associated with student performance on the assessments; but we don’t find evidence of heterogeneity in the relationship between ECE duration and test outcomes based on gender and migration background. Instead, we document differential effects of ECE duration according to age of entry to ECE, mother’s education, and the type of educational system attended