Birth Order and Health of Newborns: What Can We Learn from Danish Registry Data?

Anne Ardila Brenoee () and Ramona Molitor ()
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Anne Ardila Brenoee: University of Copenhagen, Department of Economics, Oekonomisk Institut
Ramona Molitor: University of Passau, Chair of Economic Policy

No 1513, CINCH Working Paper Series from Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health

Abstract: Research has shown a strong negative correlation between birth order and cognitive test scores, IQ, and educational outcomes. We ask whether birth order differences in health are present at birth using matched administrative data for more than 1,000,000 children born in Denmark between 1981 and 2010. Using family fixed effects models, we find a positive and robust birth order effect; lower parity children are less healthy at birth. Looking at the potential mechanisms, we find that during earlier pregnancies women have higher labor market attachment, behave more risky in terms of smoking, receive more prenatal care, and are diagnosed with more medical pregnancy complications. Yet, none of these factors explain the birth order differences at birth. This positive birth order effect at birth stands in stark contrast to a negative birth order effect in educational performance. Once we control for health at birth, the negative birth order effect in educational performance further increases.

Keywords: Birth order; parity; child health; fetal health; health at birth; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I12 J12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 64 pages
Date: 2015-10, Revised 2015-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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