RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Birth Order, Educational Attainment, and Earnings JF Journal of Human Resources JO J Hum Resour FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 755 OP 777 DO 10.3368/jhr.XLI.4.755 VO XLI IS 4 A1 Jasmin Kantarevic A1 Stéphane Mechoulan YR 2006 UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XLI/4/755.abstract AB We examine the implications of being early in the birth order, and whether a pattern exists within large families of falling then rising attainment with respect to birth order. Unlike other studies using U.S. data, we go beyond grade for age and look at racial differences. Drawing from OLS and fixed effects estimations, we find that being first-born confers a significant educational advantage that persists when considering earnings; being last-born confers none. These effects are significant for large Black families at the high school level, and for White families of any size at both high school and college levels.