Foundation For Large Families
Information email: largefamilies2001@yahoo.com

Conference on Education and Food

Does Large Family Size Reduce Investment in Children? - NOT MUCH!"

Allison Vratil

* Evidence of the impact of family size on educational investment in children is inconsistent and inconclusive. There is a lack of convincing support of a strong association between large family size and reduced investment in children.

* The overall impact of family size on educational attainment and schooling enrollment is mixed. When a statistically significant effect is detected, it is usually negative, indicating that educational attainment and schooling enrollment decrease as family size increases. This effect is also weak, indicating that the decline in educational investment in children of large families is only slight.

* The observed small negative effects of family size on educational investment occur mainly among relatively large and relatively small families. Although there is some evidence suggesting that children in very small families (1-2 children) enjoy an educational advantage over children in very large families (more than 5 children), there is no evidence of an association within small and large families. For example, we would not expect to see a significant difference in the educational investment in two-child and four- or five-child families.

* Those studies that do find a significant association between family size and educational investment in children also reveal that nearly all of this correlation can be attributed to other demographic and personal characteristics such as rural/urban residence, region, parents' education, household wealth, and child's age.

* Most models of the association between family size and educational investment in children fail to account for the fact that family size and educational investment are determined jointly. Despite a large empirical literature documenting jointly determined fertility and schooling, much of the research on the impact of family size on educational investment rests on the assumption of a causal relationship between family size and educational investment. This assumption has resulted in conclusions based on statistically biased estimates of the impact of family size. Correcting for this bias would further weaken the small negative association between family size and educational investment.

We have had Visitors to our site since July 16, 2002.

Back to FFLF Home Page

Back to page of Articles