Females having a younger brother: Adult earnings are about 7 pct less in adulthood; parents have lower academic expectations for the girls, & the girls develop more traditionally feminine roles

The Brother Earnings Penalty. Angela Cools, Eleonora Patacchini. Labour Economics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2019.02.009

Highlights
•    We examine the impact of having a younger brother on females’ adolescent environment and adult earnings
•    We use unique longitudinal data on a recent cohort of U.S. women
•    Girls with a younger brother earn about 7 percent less in their adulthood
•    Parents have lower academic expectations for girls with a younger brother
•    Girls with a younger brother develop more traditional gender roles and behaviors

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of sibling gender on adolescent experiences and adult labor market outcomes for a recent cohort of U.S. women. We document an earnings penalty from the presence of a younger brother (relative to a younger sister), finding that a next-youngest brother reduces adult earnings by about 7 percent. Using rich data on parent-child interactions, parents’ expectations, disruptive behaviors, and adult outcomes, we provide a first step at examining the mechanisms behind this result. We find that brothers reduce parents’ expectations and school monitoring of female children while also increasing females’ propensity to engage in more traditionally feminine tasks. These factors help explain a portion of the labor market penalty from brothers.