Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/110733 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9004
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany experienced an unprecedented temporary drop in fertility driven by economic uncertainty. Using various educational measures, we show that the children born during this nativity slump perform worse from an early age onwards. Consistent with negative selection, mothers who gave birth in that period had worse observed personal characteristics. These children are also less likely to have grown up within stable family environment. Investigating underlying mechanisms reveals that parental educational input and emotional attachment were also lower for these children. Finally, sibling analysis enables us to reject time of birth effects.
Subjects: 
parental selection
fertility
economic uncertainty
education
JEL: 
J13
I20
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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