Sibship Size and Educational Attainment in Peninsular Malaysia: Do Policies Matter?

Abstract

The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey is used to explore one of the most important components of interfamily inequality of school attainment: Sibship size. The survey data document the differences in the effects of sibship size on children's secondary school attainment among Malaysia's three ethnic communities. They also show the response of the sibship size effect to public policies targeting the ethnic Malay population. Three broad questions can be addressed using the available data: First, how important is sibship size as a determinant of educational attainment, ceteris paribus, within the Malay and nonMalay populations? Second, how have the effects of sibship size changed over time? Third, are there ethnic differences in any such changes, differences that could be interpreted in light of the government's regulation of school supply and employment opportunities for each group? Addressing these questions in the case of Malaysia illuminates the extent to which public policy more generally can alter the effect of sibship size on educational attainment. The findings indicate that restrictions on family size by each of Malaysia's ethnic groups were a rational attempt by parents to compensate for constraints on their ability to invest in their children's education.