jsalvatier comments on Review: Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids - Less Wrong

17 Post author: jsalvatier 29 May 2012 06:00PM

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Comment author: jsalvatier 28 May 2012 05:00:43PM 1 point [-]

As I understand it, it means that they did a regression between some aggregate measure of family environment (like total family income) and the outcome of interest and it put a small regression coefficient on the aggregate measure and/or that the differences in outcomes between adopted children in the same home were not smaller than the differences between adopted children in different comes. In the later case, I think you can compare adopted children both to adopted and unadopted siblings. Have I explained that clearly?

Here's an arbitrary adoption paper cited in the book: Sacerdote, B. (January 01, 2007). How Large Are the Effects from Changes in Family Environment? A Study of Korean American Adoptees *. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122, 1, 119-157.

Comment author: juliawise 29 May 2012 02:41:23AM 1 point [-]

Note that the Sacerdote is the only study I've been able to find on adult outcomes of adoptees. There's not much out there.

Comment author: jsalvatier 06 June 2012 10:13:26PM 0 points [-]

If you're interested, I posted the swedish study.

Comment author: juliawise 06 June 2012 11:14:03PM 0 points [-]

Thanks! It seems to say that how well you age is more determined by genetics than who raised you, which is unsurprising given that you've had decades of other environmental influences by that time.