“The Effects of Sibling Composition on Children’s Intellectual Performance in Indonesia”
Weekly Webinar of Department of Economics, FEB UI
Hana Fajria – FEB UI Public Relations Officer
Depok – The Department of Economics, FEB UI, held a weekly webinar on “The Effects of Birth Order on Children’s Intellectual Performance in Indonesia” on Wednesday (6/3/2020). Speakers at the webinar were I Dewa Gede Karma Wisana, Ph.D., Deputy Head of Administration and Finance, and Rus’an Nasrudin, Ph. D., lecturer at the Department of Economics, FEB UI.
Birth order and birth spacing as important factors in children’s intellectual performance in Indonesia served as the background for this research.
The number of children and the right time to raise them are among the most important decisions a family should make. Parents are aware that the number of children they have, the order of birth and/or a birth interval influence sibling outcomes, including their intelligence.
Although the impact of family structure on children’s performance in Indonesia has been studied extensively, literature on birth order and the impact of birth intervals on child well-being is scarce.
By utilizing large-scale longitudinal data – the 2007 Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2007- this study seeks to determine whether birth order and birth spacing affect the intelligence of siblings at 7-14 years of age. The results of the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) show that birth order affects children’s intellectual performance.
However, this effect becomes negligible and insignificant when the age gap between siblings is longer. In addition, factors related to cognitive-endowment will become random if the home environment does not support cognitive development. From the perspective of family planning programs, these findings suggest the need for a convincing policy design to increase the pregnancy gap to ensure good sibling outcomes. (hjtp)
(lem)
