Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/161186 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10563
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper studies the causal effect of birth spacing (i.e., the age difference between siblings) on personality traits. We use longitudinal data from a large British cohort which has been followed from birth until age 42. Following earlier studies, we employ miscarriages between the first and second child as an instrument for birth spacing. The results show that a larger age gap between siblings negatively affects personality traits of the youngest child in two-child households. This result sheds a first light on the causal effects of birth spacing on personality traits.
Subjects: 
birth spacing
family structure
personality traits
JEL: 
J12
J13
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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