Sisi Sung
LightNews LightNews
sisisung.bsky.social
Sisi Sung
@sisisung.bsky.social
6 followers 10 following 1 posts
Posts Replies Media Videos
sisisung.bsky.social
Check out our new working paper!
rmckenzie.bsky.social Ross McKenzie @rmckenzie.bsky.social · Sep 2
New working paper out with Yue Gu and Sisi Sung: The Effect of Sibling Gender Composition on Women's Education and Occupational Choice

Open to feedback!

ssrn.com/abstract=539...
Abstract This paper investigates how sibling gender composition affects women's educational attainment and occupational choice. Using data from the China Household Income Project survey, we estimate the impact, for first-born women, of having a second-born brother relative to those with a second-born sister. Given supportive evidence from the literature and our data, we identify a period (1963 to 1978) where the gender of the second child given the first child's gender is as good as random as it is not yet affected by selective abortion or other drivers of gender imbalance. The results show that having a second-born brother is beneficial to first-born women's educational attainment. However, other elements such as gender norms appear reinforced by having a brother: in the labour market, first-born women with a second-born brother are less likely to choose a male-dominated occupation, which on average carries a higher wage.
September 2, 2025 at 10:33 AM