Family Culture and Fertility Outcomes – Evidence from American Siblings

This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between culture and socio-economic outcomes by examining the importance of family specific fertility culture for fertility outcomes. Family specific fertility culture is defined as systematic component in fertility preferences shared among family members. Using data from the NLSY79, we identify family culture by comparing preferences of siblings in early adulthood. Relating these preferences to completed fertility later in life, we find a significant influence of attitudes shared between siblings but almost no influence of preferences unrelated to family background. Our results suggest that fertility decisions are indeed affected by family culture which underlines the importance of family background in forming preferences and affecting socio-economic outcomes.