From Parents’ Cradle to Children’s Career: Intergenerational Birth Order Effects

Although numerous studies investigate how childhood experiences shape adult success, there is limited understanding of their impact on future generations. We study the intergenerational consequences of birth order, an aspect of childhood that affects a large part of the population and can be identified with relatively mild assumptions. Using cousin comparisons in Dutch administrative data, we find that around 20 percent of the income disadvantages due to a higher birth order are transmitted to the next generation. Additionally, we find sizeable decreases in children’s education and increases in boys’ criminal behavior, mainly driven by violent offenses.