Ping for the Norway ping list.
In other news--this from the newspapers of Nebraska, the Norway of America, and not from Norway, the Nebraska of Europe--the Norwegian dog-sledding team is apparently leading in that one race across Alaska.
Posted on 03/13/2005 6:08:19 AM PST by franksolich
OSLO (Reuters) - First born children in Norway get better education and as adults are more successful in the job market than younger siblings, a Norwegian-U.S. study shows.
"It is the birth order and not necessarily the size of the family that is important," said economics professor Kjell Salvanes of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. "It is better if you are the first born."
Salvanes and two colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) based their study on census data of Norwegians born between 1912 and 1975. The findings will be published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, a Harvard publication, in May.
They found that younger siblings tend to get less schooling than their elders and then end up with lower pay on average and were more likely to be in part-time work, Salvanes said. The findings were likely to hold true in other countries, he said.
"In terms of educational attainment, if you are the fourth born instead of the first, you get almost one year less education, and that is quite a lot," Salvanes told Reuters.
And first-born children tend to weigh more at birth than their younger brothers and sisters, which is a good predictor for educational success, Salvanes said.
Children alone with two adults also tend to get more intellectual stimulation than children in large families who get less parental attention, he said.
First-born children seem to learn from teaching their younger siblings, contrary to the common notion that younger children benefit by learning from their elders, Salvanes said.
So does that mean big sisters really are smarter?
"Yes. It's hard to admit because I have older sisters," Salvanes said.
I do not think it is so much that younger children are born with fewer brain-cells, though; I think it is more because the older children exhaust the parents so much that the parents no longer have the time and energy to deal with the younger children.
The studies done in the United States show that the correlation is strongest to the average education level of the child's environment. The children after the first born experience a lower average education level.
In other news--this from the newspapers of Nebraska, the Norway of America, and not from Norway, the Nebraska of Europe--the Norwegian dog-sledding team is apparently leading in that one race across Alaska.
Maybe in Norway, but not in my family! Baby girl got the brains. ;) Of course, having an oldest brother who smokes pot all the time probably helps.
Well, in my case, sir, you have two parents with four-year college degrees, professional careers, and then six children, all of them with college degrees, but the younger three had a harder row to hoe, than the older three.
I think it has much to do with energy; the first kid comes along, and everybody gets all excited and gaga over it--then almost twenty years later, when the sixth kid shows up, the response is, "Oh, Hades, another one," after which one goes back to the sports-pages of the newspaper.
When I look at my siblings and their children, the middle children seem to be the overachievers.
I wish! Still looking for Mr. Right. If you know him, send him my way, will ya? ;)
Nah, its crystal clear here- a beautiful winter morning scene outside my window! I even hear birds singing.
Yeah, probably a good idea to wait until you've had food. That way, she can't throw it at you or poison it! LOL! I've seen a few robins, but mostly white-breasted nuthatches, tit mice, and cardinals.
Same here, I'm the oldest, and my baby brother (5th child) is a card carrying MENSA, Phd in plasma physics and is a professor at a university. Oh, and he's a conservative :)
I hope you find him.
Just make sure his first name isn't "ALWAYS."
She might not poison me until after I've fixed her computer again.
HAHAHAHA! Good one.
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