American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
The Importance of Being Wanted
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 2,
no. 4, October 2010
(pp. 236–53)
Abstract
We identify birth wantedness as a source of better child outcomes. In Vietnam, the year of birth is widely believed to determine success. As a result, cohorts born in auspicious years are 12 percent larger. Comparing siblings with one another, those of auspicious cohorts are found to have two extra months of schooling. The Vietnamese horoscope being gender-specific, this difference will be shown to be driven by birth planning. Children born in auspicious years are more likely to have been planned, thus benefiting from a more favorable growth environment. (JEL J12, J13, O15, P23, Z13)Citation
Do, Quy-Toan, and Tung D. Phung. 2010. "The Importance of Being Wanted." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2 (4): 236–53. DOI: 10.1257/app.2.4.236Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- P23 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Social and Economic Stratification
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