Are economic preferences shaped by the family context? The impact of birth order and siblings’ sex composition on economic preferences

Lena Detlefsen, Andreas Friedl, Katharina Lima de Miranda, Ulrich Schmidt and Matthias Sutter
Additional contact information
Lena Detlefsen: University of Kiel and Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Andreas Friedl: Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg

No 2018_12, Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods from Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods

Abstract: The formation of economic preferences in childhood and adolescence has long-term consequences for life-time outcomes. We study in an experiment with 525 teenagers how both birth order and siblings’ sex composition affect risk, time and social preferences. We find that second born children are typically less patient, less risk averse, and more trusting. However, siblings’ sex composition interacts importantly with birth order effects. Second born children are more risk taking only with same-sex siblings. For trust and trustworthiness, birth order effects are larger with mixed-sex siblings than in the single-sex case. Only for patience, siblings’ sex composition does not matter.

Date: 2018-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-exp
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Are Economic Preferences Shaped by the Family Context? The Impact of Birth Order and Siblings' Sex Composition on Economic Preferences (2018)
Working Paper: Are Economic Preferences Shaped by the Family Context? The Impact of Birth Order and Siblings' Sex Composition on Economic Preferences (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2018_12

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