The Long-Term Impacts of Breastfeeding on Educational Attainment of Adults

The Long-Term Impacts of Breastfeeding on Educational Attainment of Adults | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Long-Term Impacts of Breastfeeding on Educational Attainment of Adults Md Mohsan Khudri, Andrew Hussey This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5697247/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the impact of breastfeeding on the likelihood of obtaining a college degree and attending graduate school. Using a doubly robust estimation technique, we find that having been breastfed is linked to an increased probability of obtaining a college degree, but its association with graduate school attendance is largely insignificant. The effect on college degree attainment is primarily concentrated among males, blacks, and whites. Investigating potential mechanisms, we find evidence that these effects are operating through the impact of breastfeeding on adolescents’ cognitive ability. JEL classification : I12, I23, J15, I18, C21 Breastfeeding Educational attainment Human capital Doubly robust estimation College degree Graduate school attendance 1. Introduction A substantial body of research has shown that early childhood investments can have significant and lasting impacts throughout a child’s life (Cunha, Heckman, & Schennach, 2010 ; Francesconi & Heckman, 2016 ; Heckman & Mosso, 2014 ; Maluccio, et al., 2009 ). In addition to impacting early cognitive development, child investments such as pre-K or nutritional programs may have long-term ramifications for human capital and educational attainment even as an adult (Dynarski, Hyman, & Schanzenbach, 2013 ; Gray-Lobe, et al., 2023 ; Maluccio, et al., 2009 ). The practice of breastfeeding is a particularly well-studied parental investment in one’s child. Due to its broad availability and low direct cost, even small impacts on child outcomes can have large societal returns and the potential to reduce social and economic inequality. Breastfeeding has been linked to many favorable child outcomes. In terms of health, several studies suggest that breastfeeding may offer protection against childhood infections, reduced likelihood of child obesity, and reduced risk of asthma, diabetes, disability, and ear infections (Ip, et al., 2007 ; Victora, et al., 2016 ; Wehby, 2014 ). The cognitive benefits of breastfeeding seem to be even more pronounced, with research consistently finding a link between breastfeeding practices and child cognitive scores (Belfield and Kelly, 2012 ; Del Bono and Rabe, 2012 ; Fitzsimons and Vera-Hernández, 2022 ; Kramer, et al., 2008 ). These cognitive benefits appear to persist at least through adolescence and into early adulthood (Borra, et al., 2012 ; Dalmeijer, et al., 2016 ; Evenhouse and Reilly, 2005 ; Horta, et al., 2015 ). However, the longer-term impact of breastfeeding on educational attainment has yet to be clearly established, especially in the context of the United States. Given the significant social gradient in educational attainment in the United States, the unique types and relatively long length of tertiary degree programs in the country, comparatively high levels of student debt, and variation across countries in the returns to education, the higher educational impacts of early childhood investments in the U.S. may differ substantially from European or other developed nations (Durrani, 2024 ; Gunderson & Oreopolous, 2020 ). In this paper we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to estimate the long-term impacts of having been breastfed on higher educational attainment. We use both doubly robust (DR) and propensity score matching (PSM) methods to account for selection into breastfeeding. In contrast to the existing literature, we focus specifically on college graduation and graduate school attendance as outcomes. Considering racial and gender differentials in rates of college completion, we also estimate heterogeneous treatment effects along these dimensions. A handful of studies have investigated the link between breastfeeding and educational attainment or performance in school, mostly focusing on the primary or secondary school levels outside the United States. Among a sample of kids in New Zealand, Horwood and Fergusson ( 1998 ) find breastfeeding to be associated with higher standardized test scores and higher grades throughout secondary school. Two studies conducted in Brazil find that breastfeeding is linked to 0.5–0.8 higher school grade completion by age 18, and 0.91 higher years of educational attainment at age 30 (Victora et al., 2005 ; Victora et al., 2015 ). Furthermore, a study in India indicates that breastfed boys experience slight improvements in their educational attainment during adolescence (Nandi et al., 2017 ). Similarly, within the United Kingdom, research shows that breastfeeding is linked to enhanced academic performance at both age 16 (Straub et al., 2019 ) and age 26 (Richards et al., 2002 ). In the latter study, the increase in educational attainment was largely accounted for by cognitive ability measured at age 15. The apparent persistent impact on cognitive measures suggests a possible link of breastfeeding to even higher educational outcomes, yet there is a paucity of research focusing on this possibility. In one notable exception, Rees and Sabia ( 2009 ) use Add Health data on siblings to estimate the impact of having been breastfed on high school grades, graduation, and college attendance. They find significant effects on both high school grades and college attendance. This paper builds on their analysis to determine whether breastfeeding (and breastfeeding duration) affects college degree completion, as well as the likelihood of continuing studies in graduate school. To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the potential link between breastfeeding and higher educational degree attainment in the United States. The distinction between college attendance versus college degree completion is important, as over a third of students entering a 4-year institution fail to graduate within 6 years after entry. The distinction is also economically relevant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, individuals with some college (but no degree) earn 10.3 percent more than those with just a high school degree, but those with a bachelor’s degree make 50.5 percent more than those with some college (Education Pays, 2023). Beyond college completion, we consider graduate school attendance as an outcome, which further correlates with higher earnings and lower rates of unemployment. Given large disparities in both higher educational attainment and household breastfeeding practices we investigate possible heterogeneous effects by race and gender. Finally, we evaluate possible mechanisms through which breastfeeding may impact higher educational outcomes. Following several papers in the breastfeeding literature, as part of our analysis we use propensity score matching (PSM) to match breastfed and non-breastfed individuals in order to mitigate the role of potential confounding variables. A rich set of control variables includes demographics, maternal characteristics, and family structure, assisting in dealing with the selection problem plaguing observational studies in the literature on breastfeeding and other treatment effects. Beyond this, a novel aspect of this paper is our utilization of doubly robust estimation, where treatment (PS) and outcomes are modeled separately. This method requires correct specification of only the selection equation or the outcome equation, but not both (Imbens and Wooldridge, 2009 ). Overall, we estimate a 7.5–8.3 percent increase in the likelihood of college degree attainment due to having been breastfed, but generally insignificant effects on graduate school attendance. We find the impact of breastfeeding on college completion increases with breastfeeding duration through 12 months. We also find some evidence that breastfeeding has a higher impact on men and African-Americans as compared to women and whites. Finally, the addition of intermediate-term controls suggests that a likely channel through which breastfeeding may impact college graduation is cognitive ability (as measured during adolescence). The remainder of the paper proceeds as follows. In section 2, we describe the data and methods used in the analysis. Section 3 presents our main estimates, as well as the analysis of heterogeneous effects, robustness checks, and consideration of possible channels through with the effects are operating. Section 4 summarizes and concludes. 2. Data and methods 2.1 Data We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, hereafter), a nationally representative and school-based longitudinal survey conducted by the Carolina Population Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The survey comprises students in grades 7 through 12 in the initial survey (Wave I), administered in 1994–1995. In wave I, the primary caregiver (PCG) of respondents, usually their biological mother, was asked questions regarding her health as well as investments in child health, including breastfeeding. Three subsequent waves of follow-up interviews of the original sample took place in 1996, 2001–2002 and finally in 2007–2008, when the respondents were aged 24–33. Our goal is to investigate the long-term impacts of breastfeeding on adult education outcomes. We consider two educational attainments from Wave IV: whether the individual earned a college degree (CD hereafter) and whether they attended any graduate school (GSA hereafter). Our variable of interest is if the respondent was breastfed. We restrict the sample to those cases where the parent was the student’s biological mother. A breastfeeding indicator was created from responses to the Wave I parental survey question indicating how long the child was breastfed. This variable is equal to one if the respondent was breastfed for any duration and zero otherwise. We subsequently consider alternative durations of breastfeeding as treatments. Since breastfed adolescents are likely to differ from their non-breastfed peers in several ways that can lead to different academic achievements at later stages, it is important to control for potential confounding factors. We use a large set of controls in our analysis including adolescents’ demographics (age in Wave IV, gender, birthweight, multiple races, and birth order indicator variables), maternal characteristics (education, occupation, and marital status indicators), and family background characteristics (family size, log household income, if the mother received public assistance, and parent’s degree of disappointment if the child did not graduate from college), and an urban residence indicator. Table 1 reports descriptive statistics of these variables. Table 1 Descriptive statistics Mean Std. Dev. College degree 0.326 0.469 Grad school 0.128 0.334 Breastfed 0.451 0.498 Age 28.078 1.794 Age square 788.374 101.711 Female 0.516 0.500 Black 0.215 0.433 American Indian 0.036 0.187 Asian 0.041 0.199 Other race 0.160 0.248 Birth weight 7.412 1.194 First born 0.394 0.489 Second born 0.362 0.481 Third born 0.151 0.358 HS GPA 2.594 0.832 PPVT Score a 100.353 15.103 Mother completed high school 0.302 0.459 Mother college education 0.145 0.352 Mother post college education 0.103 0.303 Log family income 3.547 0.828 Mother Homemaker 0.104 0.305 Mother Professional 0.164 0.371 Mother Executive 0.044 0.205 Mother Technical Expert 0.019 0.138 Mother Clerk 0.179 0.383 Mother laborer 0.038 0.192 Mother other profession 0.012 0.107 Mother missing occupation 0.400 0.49 Mother received public assistance 0.094 0.292 Parents very disappointed c 0.429 0.495 Parents somewhat disappointed c 0.413 0.492 Family size 4.29 1.145 Married mother 0.709 0.454 Urban 0.523 0.500 Notes : a PPVT Score = Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Score (Standardized). c Parent’s degree of disappointment if the child didn’t graduate from the college. 2.2 Methods Our empirical model is as follows: $$\:{Y}_{i}={\beta\:}_{0}+{\beta\:}_{1}{Breasted}_{i}+{\varvec{\beta\:}}_{2}^{\varvec{{\prime\:}}}{\varvec{X}}_{\varvec{i}}+{\varvec{\beta\:}}_{3}^{\varvec{{\prime\:}}}{\varvec{Z}}_{\varvec{i}}+{\epsilon\:}_{i}$$ 1 where \(\:{Y}_{i}\) represents the outcome of individual i . Our coefficient of interest is \(\:{\beta\:}_{1}\) , which captures the effects of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance. \(\:{\varvec{X}}_{\varvec{i}}\) is a vector of respondent’s characteristics such as gender, age, race, birth weight, and birth order. Additionally, the vector \(\:{\varvec{Z}}_{\varvec{i}}\) comprises maternal, family, and community characteristics of respondents (see Table 1 for details). 2.2.1 Doubly robust estimation We adopt a doubly robust (DR) estimation approach to estimate the causal effect of breastfeeding on college degrees and graduate school attendance. Unlike traditional OLS and PSM techniques, DR methods effectively mitigate bias stemming from outcome or selection model misspecification and demonstrate reduced sensitivity to functional form assumptions. DR estimators integrate a selection model (the propensity score, or the probability of being breastfed) and an outcome model in a manner that necessitates only one of these models to be correctly specified to yield unbiased treatment effect estimates. In this paper, we use the inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) estimator as a doubly robust estimator (Imbens & Wooldridge, 2009 ; Wooldridge, 2010 ). The IPWRA estimator employs inverse probability weights (IPW) when conducting the regression adjustment (RA) to effectively model both the treatment and the outcome. The weights have no impact on the accuracy of the RA estimator when the treatment model is incorrect, but the outcome model is correct. However, the weights rectify the RA estimator when the treatment model is accurate, but the outcome model is incorrect. The IPWRA estimator proposed by Wooldridge ( 2010 ) is utilized in this study to calculate the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT). The DR estimation based on the IPWRA estimator involves four steps (Tani, Xu, and Zhu, 2021 ): Initially, the propensity score is estimated using logistic regression, conditioning it on observed pre-treatment characteristics. Subsequently, weighted regression models for the outcome variable are fitted for both treatment and control groups, utilizing the IPW to derive treatment-specific predicted outcomes. All covariates from Eq. ( 1 ) are incorporated into the outcome model. In the third step, the means of the predicted outcomes for both treatment and control groups are computed, which are utilized further to estimate the average treatment effect (ATE) of breastfeeding by determining the mean difference between the groups. Finally, the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) is computed by confining the mean calculation of the predicted outcomes exclusively to the treatment group. The estimates for ATT are consistent if either the treatment or the outcome model is accurately specified (Imbens & Wooldridge, 2009 ; Wooldridge, 2010 ). 2.2.2 Propensity score matching As a second approach that is commonly used in the literature, we use PSM to compare the outcomes of breastfed children with those of their non-breastfed counterparts. The strategy effectively simulates a quasi-experiment by generating matched breastfed (i.e., treatment) and non-breastfed (control) samples, with both groups being identical in other observable aspects (Rosenbaum & Rubin, 1983 ). We adopt a nearest-neighbor matching procedure (with replacement) to match breastfed children to those who were not breastfed. Our key parameter of interest from the PSM is the average treatment effect on the treated, estimated by the difference in mean outcomes between individuals who were breastfed and the matched group of those who were not. To interpret these estimates as causal, it must be assumed that the propensity score includes all relevant variables, or that the effect of unobservable characteristics on the propensity score mirrors that of observable characteristics. This is a more restrictive assumption than what is required for DR estimation. Appendix Table A1 provides the post-matching mean values of the covariates used in the analysis by treatment and control groups. Our overall matching results confirm the similarity between treatment and control groups after matching, with only one variable having a marginally significant difference in means. 3. Results 3.1 Main estimates In Panel A of Table 2 , we present the estimates of the effects of breastfeeding on CD using the full sample and three estimation approaches: Probit, PSM, and IPWRA-DR models. Columns 1–3 show the specification with demographic controls, while columns 4–6 present the models that include demographic, maternal, and family background characteristics. The models with demographic controls suggest that having been breastfed is associated with a 0.167–0.192 Table 2 Effects of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Probit PSM DR Probit PSM DR Panel-A: College degree Breastfed 0.192 *** 0.190 *** 0.167 *** 0.098 *** 0.083 ** 0.075 *** (0.019) (0.024) (0.019) (0.028) (0.038) (0.025) Panel-B: Graduate school attendance Breastfed 0.087 *** 0.076 *** 0.071 *** 0.019 0.013 0.009 (0.013) (0.018) (0.014) (0.018) (0.030) (0.023) N 2,677 2,677 2,677 1,572 1,572 1,572 Demographic controls × × × × × × Urban indicator × × × × × × Maternal controls × × × Family controls × × × Notes : PSM stands for propensity score matching and DR indicates the doubly robust method. ATT estimates are reported from the PSM and IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are reported for all three approaches and are presented in parentheses. * p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01. percentage point increase in the likelihood of obtaining a CD. When maternal and family factors are incorporated, the estimates drop substantially to 0.075–0.098 across the alternative estimators, each of which are statistically significant. Overall, the DR method yields the lowest estimates. Nonetheless, the resulting magnitudes of the estimates are economically meaningful. Given about a third of the sample completes a CD, the DR estimate with the full set of controls suggests that having been breastfed increases the probability of CD attainment by about 23 percent. We then replicate our analysis of the college degree to examine the relationship between breastfeeding and GSA and report the results in Panel B of Table 2 . While our estimates from different techniques presented in columns 1–3 indicate a positive relationship between breastfeeding and GSA, our preferred specification with respondent’s demographic, maternal, and family background characteristics reported in columns 4–6 results in small and statistically insignificant estimates. Again, we find relatively lower estimates from the DR approach, suggesting an improved ability of this method to deal with selection bias. Given these comparative findings, we focus on DR as our empirical strategy in the remaining analyses of this paper. 3.2 Heterogeneity analysis 3.2.1 Heterogeneous treatment effects by gender and race Despite an overall increase in breastfeeding rates in the United States over the past decade, there are still disparities based on race and ethnicity. Studies by Jones et al. ( 2015 ) and Chiang et al. ( 2021 ) have shown that racial and ethnic minority groups continue to have lower breastfeeding rates and are not meeting the Healthy People 2020 goals. Other work has found that the likelihood of household breastfeeding initiation may vary by sex of the child (Shafer & Hawkins, 2017 ), and even the composition of quantity of breastmilk can differ between boys and girls (Hosseini, et al., 2020 ). Furthermore, rates of college degree attainment vary substantially by race, and women are increasingly more likely to obtain a college degree than men (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 ). With these differentials in mind, we now re-estimate our main specification by gender and race. The full specification reported in column 2 of Table 3 suggests that the impact on college degree attainment is mainly concentrated among men, with a 10.7 percentage point increase in the likelihood of obtaining a CD compared to their non-breastfed, male peers. Conversely, though positive, the estimate is statistically insignificant among women. We also find evidence of a significant association between breastfeeding and college degrees among both white and black students, with a more pronounced effect in the latter group. Specifically, we find that having been breastfed is associated with a 15.7 percentage point increase in CD for black students, which doubles the estimated impact among white students. This racial differential in the impacts of breastfeeding is even more substantial relative to the group means of CD (34 percent for whites, compared to 29 percent for blacks). In contrast, our preferred model, incorporating demographic, maternal, and family background characteristics, reveals no significant relationship between breastfeeding and GSA across all subgroups. This aligns with our primary estimates. Table 3 Heterogeneous effects of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance by gender and race College degree Graduate school attendance (1) (2) (3) (4) Gender Females 0.182 *** 0.055 0.083 *** 0.004 (0.027) (0.034) (0.021) (0.033) N 1,479 904 1,479 904 Males 0.158 *** 0.107 *** 0.053 *** 0.028 (0.027) (0.039) (0.018) (0.028) N 1,198 668 1,198 668 Race Blacks 0.253 *** 0.157 *** 0.105 *** 0.014 (0.044) (0.059) (0.035) (0.054) N 512 322 512 322 Whites 0.166 *** 0.079 *** 0.067 *** 0.007 (0.022) (0.029) (0.016) (0.026) N 1,985 1,165 1,985 1,165 Demographic controls × × Urban indicator × × Maternal controls × Family controls × Notes : ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. * p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01. 3.2.2 Heterogeneous treatment effects by breastfeeding duration To investigate the potential non-linear effects of breastfeeding duration on educational attainment and how the effects vary across different durations of breastfeeding, we consider three duration categories: breastfed for less than 6 months, less than 12 months, and 12 months+. We also investigate the effects of different durations of breastfeeding on CD and GSA to discern the diverging impacts of breastfeeding across durations, with the results shown in Table 4 . Our primary estimates (reported in column 2) indicate that having been breastfed for less than 6 months is statistically insignificant, while being breastfed for 6–12 months and 12 months + is significantly associated with an 11.7 and 13.4 percentage point higher likelihood of obtaining a CD, respectively. We further find statistically significant differences in ATT values between 1–6 months and 6–12 months and between 1–6 months and 12 months+ (both at the 5% level). However, the difference in ATT estimates between the last two duration categories is relatively small and statistically insignificant, which implies diminished marginal returns to breastfeeding (on higher educational attainment) beyond 12 months. In contrast, upon matching all controls, we observe no statistically significant relationship between different breastfeeding durations and GSA. Table 4 Effects of different durations of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance College Degree Graduate School Attendance (1) (2) (3) (4) 1m ≤ BF < 6m 0.118 *** 0.030 0.044 *** -0.012 (0.023) (0.029) (0.016) (0.025) N 2,047 1,194 2,047 1,194 6m ≤ BF < 12m 0.222 *** 0.117 *** 0.104 *** 0.019 (0.027) (0.035) (0.022) (0.033) N 1,802 1,040 1,802 1,040 Breastfed ≥ 12m 0.210 *** 0.134 *** 0.094 *** 0.056 (0.037) (0.043) (0.029) (0.041) N 1,590 914 1,590 914 Demographic controls × × × × Urban indicator × × × × Maternal controls × × Family controls × × Notes : ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. * p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01. 3.3 Exploring potential mechanisms In this section, we specifically examine two potential pathways through which breastfeeding could impact the probability of obtaining a college degree: (1) the cognitive Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) score, evaluated in Wave 1, and (2) cumulative high school GPA (HSGPA). The estimates from the baseline specification are presented in Column 1 of Table 5 . Upon including the PPVT score in the analysis (column 2), we observe that the association between breastfeeding and college degree attainment diminishes in significance and strength, rendering the effect statistically insignificant. Similarly, when we control for HSGPA (column 3), the estimated breastfeeding coefficient decreases from 0.074 to 0.055, representing a reduction of approximately 35%, although it remains statistically significant. Furthermore, the inclusion of both the PPVT score and HSGPA in the model results in a further reduction in the magnitude of the effect, leading to an insignificant association between breastfeeding and college degree attainment. Nevertheless, these results should not be interpreted as evidence for no effect of breastfeeding, as breastfeeding likely influences these added variables. Instead, these factors could serve as mediators of the relationship between breastfeeding and higher educational attainment, as both of these variables likely relate to a higher probability of college admissions, as well as preparedness for success in college. In fact, many public state universities, which are likely targeted options for many high school graduates on the margin of college attendance, have explicit minimum GPAs required for admission or have higher GPA thresholds that result in automatic admission (Clinedinst, 2019 ). Table 5 Effects of breastfeeding on the college degree after including potential mediating factors (1) (2) (3) (4) Breastfed 0.074 ** 0.042 0.055 ** 0.042 (0.031) (0.031) (0.027) (0.028) N 1,059 1,059 1,059 1,059 Demographic controls × × × × Urban indicator × × × × Maternal controls × × × × Family controls × × × × PPVT Score × × HSGPA × × Notes : ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. * p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01. 3.4 Robustness checks 3.4.1 Excluding low birthweight Due to the difficulty of latching, infants in poor health are less likely to be breastfed, which may lead to some structural endogeneity and can influence the effect of breastfeeding. To address this issue, we run models after removing children with low birthweight (< 5.51 lbs.). Results are consistent with our main estimates, confirming the robustness of our findings (see Table 6 , column 1). After controlling for the potential mediating factor PPVT or when both PPVT and HSGPA are included (columns 2 and 4), the effect of breastfeeding on CD again becomes insignificant. The association between breastfeeding and GSA appears to be statistically indistinguishable from zero across all specifications, which aligns with our primary estimates. 3.4.2 Falsification exercise Our empirical methodology has attempted to handle selection into breastfeeding, using a rich set of control variables and doubly robust estimation. However, as with any observational study, the possibility remains that unobservables correlated with breastfeeding may influence our Table 6 Effects of breastfeeding on the college degree and graduate school attendance excluding low birth weight. (1) (2) (3) (4) College degree Breastfed 0.084 *** 0.051 0.061 ** 0.048 (0.025) (0.032) (0.029) (0.029) Graduate School Attendance Breastfed 0.011 -0.008 0.003 -0.011 (0.023) (0.027) (0.027) (0.028) N 999 999 999 999 Demographic controls × × × × Urban indicator × × × × Maternal controls × × × × Family controls × × × × PPVT Score × × High School CGPA × × Notes : ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. * p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01. estimates. To examine the potential role of unobservables, we perform a series of falsification exercises. Our first strategy identifies a pre-treatment outcome, birthweight, that could be linked to these unobservables but is unlikely to be impacted by breastfeeding directly unless some selection bias exists. Moreover, a child’s birthweight is closely linked to their cognitive outcomes, which is desirable for this type of exercise (Imbens & Wooldridge, 2009 ). In addition, we adopt five other placebo outcomes: whether the respondent was drunk or very high on alcohol at least three times in the past year; whether the respondent smoked cigarettes in the last month; average hours of TV per week; whether the respondent was involved in any physical fight in the previous year; and whether the respondent used marijuana in the past 30 days. These outcomes are likely to be affected by parental investment of time but theoretically should be unaffected by breastfeeding (Rees & Sabia, 2009 ). Results from these falsification exercises (see Table 7 ) suggest that the relationships between the placebo outcomes and breastfeeding are statistically insignificant at conventional levels, providing no evidence of selection bias. Table A1 Covariate balance Variable Treated Control %bias t-stat Age 28.105 28.028 4.400 0.630 Age square 792.820 788.530 4.600 0.620 Female 0.567 0.546 4.200 0.580 Black 0.128 0.139 -2.900 -0.540 American Indian 0.030 0.043 -6.900 -1.140 Asian 0.045 0.039 2.720 0.450 Other race 0.155 0.142 6.400 0.950 Birth weight 7.670 7.566 8.800 1.380 First born 0.485 0.432 10.800 1.570 Second born 0.319 0.374 -11.700 -1.710 Third born 0.120 0.141 -5.800 -0.910 HS GPA 2.783 2.746 5.100 0.690 PPVT Score a 107.610 106.800 6.300 0.900 Mother completed high school 0.236 0.242 -1.500 -0.240 Mother college education 0.236 0.206 8.400 1.060 Mother post college education 0.157 0.127 9.400 1.270 Log family income 3.726 3.711 2.300 0.360 Mother Homemaker 0.192 0.180 3.200 0.440 Mother Professional 0.291 0.300 -2.100 -0.300 Mother Executive 0.059 0.056 1.500 0.240 Mother Technical Expert 0.028 0.021 4.100 0.660 Mother Clerk 0.213 0.264 -11.200 -1.680 * Mother laborer 0.036 0.051 -6.400 -1.050 Mother other profession 0.014 0.012 1.700 0.300 Mother missing occupation 0.104 0.081 7.100 1.170 Mother received public assistance 0.030 0.037 -2.900 -0.570 Parents very disappointed 0.423 0.404 3.800 0.550 Parents somewhat disappointed 0.443 0.441 0.500 0.070 Family size 4.522 4.473 4.900 0.720 Married mother 0.827 0.834 -1.700 -0.270 urban 0.471 0.527 -11.100 -1.630 a PPVT Score = Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Score (Standardized) Table 7 Falsification Exercise Birthweight Drunk ≥ 3 times a year Smoked last 30 days TV hours per week Physical fight last year Used marijuana last 30 days Breastfed 0.095 0.023 -0.049 -1.355 -0.021 -0.021 (0.064) (0.040) (0.038) (0.827) (0.031) (0.033) N 1,572 674 775 1567 802 707 Notes : ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. * p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01. Conclusion This study examines the effect of breastfeeding on obtaining a college degree and attending graduate school. Overall, our results suggest that breastfeeding may be a key investment in long-term human capital, as breastfeeding is associated with an increased probability of getting a college degree (but is insignificantly linked to graduate school attendance). While the expansive literature on the impacts of breastfeeding largely focuses on childhood health, cognitive or early educational outcomes, our results highlight the lifelong impact that breastfeeding may have on children through college education, a key socioeconomic indicator. In terms of channels, we provide evidence that breastfeeding may affect college degree attainment by impacting, directly or indirectly, cognitive ability and high school GPA. Other studies have also indicated breastfeeding as a key early childhood investment that may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of human capital (Almond, Currie, & Duque, 2018 ). Our results support this idea with regard to education attainment. There is a substantial socioeconomic gradient in the practice of breastfeeding in the United States, with college graduates being twice as likely to report breastfeeding than mothers with high school or less (Diaz, et al. 2023 ). We find that this differential is compounded by the apparent effect of breastfeeding on the likelihood of one’s children ultimately earning a college degree. Our heterogeneity analyses by gender or race indicate that male and black students – both underrepresented groups in higher education – have slightly higher returns to having been breastfed. Especially since African-American women have lower rates of breastfeeding, our results support breastfeeding initiation policies targeting this group. Our study is not without limitations. First, due to data constraints, we cannot differentiate between those who were exclusively breastfed and those who received both breast milk and formula. Another issue is the possibility of recall bias, as the survey collects retrospective information regarding breastfeeding. Finally, selection on unobservables cannot be ruled out. Nonetheless, results from our robustness checks, including falsification exercises, bolster the likelihood that remaining unobservables do not significantly alter our estimates. Declarations Author Contribution M.K. carried out the empirical analysis and prepared all tables. A.H. and M.K. both developed the estimation strategy, wrote the main manuscript text, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. Acknowledgement We appreciate the insightful comments from Jamin Speer, Han Yu, David Kemme, Karar Zunaid Ahsan, and participants of the 2024 North Texas Economics Conference. Data Availability The data used in this study come from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which may be obtained by researchers from https://addhealth.cpc.unc.edu/data/. References Almond, D., Currie, J., & Duque, V. (2018). Child circumstances and adult outcomes: Act II. Journal of Economic Literature, 56(40), 1360–1446. Belfield, C. R., & Kelly, I. R. (2012). The benefits of breast feeding across the early years of childhood. Journal of Human Capital, 6 (3), 251–277. Borra, C., Iacovou, M., & Sevilla, A. (2012). The effect of breastfeeding on children’s cognitive and noncognitive development. Labour Economics, 19, 496–515. Clinedinst, M. (2019). 2019 State of College Admission. National Association for College Admission Counseling . Cesur, R., Sabia, J. J., Kelly, I. R., & Yang, M. (2017). The effect of breastfeeding on young adult wages: new evidence from the add health. Review of Economics of the Household, 15 , 25–51. Chiang, K. V., Li, R., Anstey, E. H., & Perrine, C. G. (2021). Racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding initiation United States, 2019. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70 (21), 769. Cunha, F., Heckman, J. J., & Schennach, S. M. (2010). Estimating the technology of cognitive and noncognitive skill formation. Econometrica, 78 (3), 883–931. Dalmeijer, G. W., Wijgda, A. H., Gehring, U., Renders, C. M., Koppelman, G. H., Smit, H.A., & van Rossem, L. (2016). Fatty acid composition in breastfeeding and school performance in children aged 12 years. European journal of nutrition, 55, 2199–2207. Del Bono, E., & Rabe, B. (2012). Breastfeeding and child cognitive outcomes: Evidence from a hospital-based breastfeeding support policy (No. 2012-29). ISER Working Paper Series. Diaz, L. E., Yee, L. M., & Feinglass, J. (2023). Rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration in the United States: data insights from the 2016–2019 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1256432. Dieterich, C., et al. (2013). Breastfeeding and health outcomes for the mother-infant dyad. Pediatric Clinics 60, 31–48. Durrani, A. (2024). How bachelor’s degrees in the U.S. and Europe differ. U.S. News & World Report , Feb. 13, 2024, https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/articles/how-bachelors-degrees-in-the-us-and-europe-differ . Dynarski, S., Hyman, J., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2013). Experimental evidence on the effect of childhood investments on postsecondary attainment and degree completion. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 32(4), 692–717. “Education Pays, 2023,” Career Outlook , U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024. Evenhouse, E., & Reilly, S. (2005). Improved estimates of the benefits of breastfeeding using sibling comparisons to reduce selection bias. Health services research, 40 (6p1), 1781–1802. Fitzsimons, E., & Vera-Hernández, M. (2022). Breastfeeding and child development. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 14 (3), 329–66. Francesconi, M., & Heckman, J. J. (2016). Child development and parental investment: Introduction. The Economic Journal, 126 (596), F1-F27. Gray-Lobe, G., Pathak, P. A., & Walters, C. R. (2023). The long-term effects of universal preschool in Boston. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 138(1), 363.411. Gunderson, M., & Oreopolous, P. (2020). The returns to education in developed countries. In The Economics of Education (pp. 39–51). Academic Press. Heckman, J. J., & Mosso, S. (2014). The economics of human development and social mobility. Annu. Rev. Econ., 6 (1), 689–733. Horta, B., Loret de Mola, C., and Victora, C. 2015. Breastfeeding and intelligence: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Paediatrica, 104, 14–19. Horwood, L.J., and Fergusson, D.M. (1998). Breastfeeding and later cognitive and academic outcomes. Pediatrics. 101(1): E9. Hosseini, M., Valizadeh, E., Hosseini, N., Khatibshahidi, S., and Raeisi, S. 2020. The role of infant sex on human milk composition. Breastfeeding Medicine, 15(5), 341–46. Imbens, G. W., & Wooldridge, J. M. (2009). Recent developments in the econometrics of program evaluation. Journal of economic literature, 47 (1), 5–86. Ip, S., Chung, M., Raman, G., Chew, P., Magula, N., DeVine, D., … Lau, J. (2007). Breastfeeding and maternal and infant health outcomes in developed countries. Evidence report/technology assessment, (153), 1–186. Jones, K. M., Power, M. L., Queenan, J. T., & Schulkin, J. (2015). Racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding. Breastfeeding Medicine, 10 (4), 186–196. Kramer, M. S., Aboud, F., Mironova, E., Vanilovich, I., Platt, R. W., Matush, L., … Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial (PROBIT) Study Group. (2008). Breastfeeding and child cognitive development: new evidence from a large randomized trial. Archives of general psychiatry, 65 (5), 578–584. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.65.5.578 Maluccio, J. A., Hoddinott, J., Behrman, J. R., Martorell, R., Quisumbing, A. R., & Stein, A. D. (2009). The impact of improving nutrition during early childhood on education among Guatemalan adults. The Economic Journal, 119 (537), 734–763. Nandi, A., Lutter, R., & Laxminarayan, R. (2017). Breastfeeding duration and adolescent educational outcomes: Longitudinal evidence from India. Food and nutrition bulletin, 38(4), 528–541. Rees, D. I., & Sabia, J. J. (2009). The effect of breast feeding on educational attainment: Evidence from sibling data. Journal of Human Capital, 3 (1), 43–72. Richards, M., Hardy, R., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2002). Long-term effects of breast-feeding in a national birth cohort: educational attainment and midlife cognitive function. Public health nutrition, 5(5), 631–635. Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70 (1), 41–55. Shafer, E. F., & Hawkins, S. S. (2017). The impact of sex of child on breastfeeding in the United States. Maternal and child health journal, 21 , 2114–2121. Straub, N., Grunert, P., Northstone, K., & Emmett, P. (2019). Economic impact of breast-feeding-associated improvements of childhood cognitive development, based on data from the ALSPAC. British Journal of Nutrition, 122(s1), S16-S21. Tani, M., Xu, L., & Zhu, Y. (2021). The impact of an un(der) funded inclusive education policy: Evidence from the 2013 China education panel survey. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 190 , 768–784. U.S. Census Bureau (2022). Educational Attainment in the United States, 2022. Victora, C. G., Barros, F. C., Horta, B. L., & Lima, R. C. (2005). Breastfeeding and school achievement in Brazilian adolescents. Acta Paediatrica, 94(11), 1656–1660. Victora, C. G., Horta, B. L., De Mola, C. L., Quevedo, L., Pinheiro, R. T. Gigante, D. P., … Barros, R. C. (2015). Association between breastfeeding and intelligence, educational attainment, and income at 30 years of age: a prospective birth cohort study from Brazil. The lancet global health, 3(4), e199-e205. Victora, C. G., Bahl, R., Barros, A. J., França, G. V., Horton, S., Krasevec, J., … Rollins, N. C. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. The lancet, 387 (10017), 475–490. Wehby, G. L. (2014). Breastfeeding and child disability: A comparison of siblings from the United States. Economics & Human Biology, 15 , 13–22. Wooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, Second Edition. MIT Press. Footnotes See Table 326.10 of the Digest of Education Statistics by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). College completion also differs by race/ethnicity, with 59.2 percent of Hispanic enrollees completing their degree within 6 years and only 45.7 percent of Black enrollees doing so. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, among the non-Hispanic white population, the percentage of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more was 41.8 percent in 2022. This compares to 27.6 for the African-American population and 20.9 percent for the Hispanic population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 ). For example, PSM is used by Belfield & Kelly ( 2012 ), Borra et al. ( 2012 ), McCrory & Layte (2011), and Rothstein (2013). Given that the correct functional form isn’t perfectly known, weighting can help attenuate the resulting bias (Imbens & Wooldridge, 2009 ). We impose a common support restriction on both treatment and control groups using the Epanechnikov kernel algorithm with a 0.05 bandwidth. About 0.6% observations are dropped due to not meeting the common support requirements. Results from the augmented inverse probability weighted estimator (AIPW), another DR estimator, are quantitatively similar to those from IPWRA-DR estimation. Due to sample size considerations, we focus only on the two largest racial groups, whites and blacks, who comprise 85% of the study sample. The difference in ATT estimates between males and females is not statistically significant. Nonetheless, it is not statistically different from the estimate for white students. The reference group consists of never breastfed respondents. This result differs slightly from that in Table 2 due to the small number of missing values of PPVT and HSGPA. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 02 Feb, 2025 Reviews received at journal 01 Feb, 2025 Reviews received at journal 27 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 Dec, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 31 Dec, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 23 Dec, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Dec, 2024 First submitted to journal 23 Dec, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5697247","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":410192781,"identity":"c5bc0ce1-c153-4902-b00b-eff9abd79e3c","order_by":0,"name":"Md Mohsan Khudri","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACHh4gZpCQA3MSgJiPHSLB2EBAizFYEUgLGzNxWhgSG2CKCGrR7Tl7TOLtHov0/hnpzx883GEnx8bMfPjFBwYb2Q0HsGsxO9uXJjnnmUTujBs5hg2JZ5KN2ZjZ0ixnMKQZ49RynsdMmueARG7DjRzGhsS2A4ltzDxmxjwMhxMJaUmXv5H+EKqF/5vxH4b/uLWc7QFrSTC4kWAIs4X5MQPDAdxazpwxtpxzQMJw45k3hjMS28B+MWPsMUg2nolTS47hjTcH6uTljqc/+PizzU6On7358YcfFXayfTi0YAVsEgwGJCgHAeYPJGoYBaNgFIyC4Q0ArB5eRO+231AAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Austin College","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Md","middleName":"Mohsan","lastName":"Khudri","suffix":""},{"id":410192782,"identity":"b57c6291-2b32-4d3a-a86c-14e0a494376a","order_by":1,"name":"Andrew Hussey","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Memphis","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andrew","middleName":"","lastName":"Hussey","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-23 07:08:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5697247/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5697247/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":75302016,"identity":"6a5a6bfa-6bf8-4ab7-89f3-65f920caf950","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-02-03 07:48:07","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1181165,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5697247/v1/910fc7b3-f356-4a31-934a-b01e88c9659e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Long-Term Impacts of Breastfeeding on Educational Attainment of Adults","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eA substantial body of research has shown that early childhood investments can have significant and lasting impacts throughout a child\u0026rsquo;s life (Cunha, Heckman, \u0026amp; Schennach, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Francesconi \u0026amp; Heckman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Heckman \u0026amp; Mosso, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Maluccio, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). In addition to impacting early cognitive development, child investments such as pre-K or nutritional programs may have long-term ramifications for human capital and educational attainment even as an adult (Dynarski, Hyman, \u0026amp; Schanzenbach, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Gray-Lobe, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Maluccio, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). The practice of breastfeeding is a particularly well-studied parental investment in one\u0026rsquo;s child. Due to its broad availability and low direct cost, even small impacts on child outcomes can have large societal returns and the potential to reduce social and economic inequality.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfeeding has been linked to many favorable child outcomes. In terms of health, several studies suggest that breastfeeding may offer protection against childhood infections, reduced likelihood of child obesity, and reduced risk of asthma, diabetes, disability, and ear infections (Ip, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Victora, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Wehby, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). The cognitive benefits of breastfeeding seem to be even more pronounced, with research consistently finding a link between breastfeeding practices and child cognitive scores (Belfield and Kelly, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Del Bono and Rabe, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Fitzsimons and Vera-Hern\u0026aacute;ndez, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Kramer, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). These cognitive benefits appear to persist at least through adolescence and into early adulthood (Borra, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e; Dalmeijer, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Evenhouse and Reilly, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Horta, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). However, the longer-term impact of breastfeeding on educational attainment has yet to be clearly established, especially in the context of the United States. Given the significant social gradient in educational attainment in the United States, the unique types and relatively long length of tertiary degree programs in the country, comparatively high levels of student debt, and variation across countries in the returns to education, the higher educational impacts of early childhood investments in the U.S. may differ substantially from European or other developed nations (Durrani, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Gunderson \u0026amp; Oreopolous, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this paper we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to estimate the long-term impacts of having been breastfed on higher educational attainment. We use both doubly robust (DR) and propensity score matching (PSM) methods to account for selection into breastfeeding. In contrast to the existing literature, we focus specifically on college graduation and graduate school attendance as outcomes. Considering racial and gender differentials in rates of college completion, we also estimate heterogeneous treatment effects along these dimensions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA handful of studies have investigated the link between breastfeeding and educational attainment or performance in school, mostly focusing on the primary or secondary school levels outside the United States. Among a sample of kids in New Zealand, Horwood and Fergusson (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e) find breastfeeding to be associated with higher standardized test scores and higher grades throughout secondary school. Two studies conducted in Brazil find that breastfeeding is linked to 0.5\u0026ndash;0.8 higher school grade completion by age 18, and 0.91 higher years of educational attainment at age 30 (Victora et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Victora et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, a study in India indicates that breastfed boys experience slight improvements in their educational attainment during adolescence (Nandi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, within the United Kingdom, research shows that breastfeeding is linked to enhanced academic performance at both age 16 (Straub et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) and age 26 (Richards et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2002\u003c/span\u003e). In the latter study, the increase in educational attainment was largely accounted for by cognitive ability measured at age 15.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe apparent persistent impact on cognitive measures suggests a possible link of breastfeeding to even higher educational outcomes, yet there is a paucity of research focusing on this possibility. In one notable exception, Rees and Sabia (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e) use Add Health data on siblings to estimate the impact of having been breastfed on high school grades, graduation, and college attendance. They find significant effects on both high school grades and college attendance. This paper builds on their analysis to determine whether breastfeeding (and breastfeeding duration) affects college degree completion, as well as the likelihood of continuing studies in graduate school. To our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the potential link between breastfeeding and higher educational degree attainment in the United States. The distinction between college attendance versus college degree completion is important, as over a third of students entering a 4-year institution fail to graduate within 6 years after entry.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn1\" id=\"#FNLinkFn1\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e The distinction is also economically relevant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, individuals with some college (but no degree) earn 10.3 percent more than those with just a high school degree, but those with a bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree make 50.5 percent more than those with some college (Education Pays, 2023). Beyond college completion, we consider graduate school attendance as an outcome, which further correlates with higher earnings and lower rates of unemployment. Given large disparities in both higher educational attainment and household breastfeeding practices we investigate possible heterogeneous effects by race and gender.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn2\" id=\"#FNLinkFn2\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e Finally, we evaluate possible mechanisms through which breastfeeding may impact higher educational outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing several papers in the breastfeeding literature, as part of our analysis we use propensity score matching (PSM) to match breastfed and non-breastfed individuals in order to mitigate the role of potential confounding variables.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn3\" id=\"#FNLinkFn3\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e A rich set of control variables includes demographics, maternal characteristics, and family structure, assisting in dealing with the selection problem plaguing observational studies in the literature on breastfeeding and other treatment effects. Beyond this, a novel aspect of this paper is our utilization of doubly robust estimation, where treatment (PS) and outcomes are modeled separately. This method requires correct specification of only the selection equation or the outcome equation, but not both (Imbens and Wooldridge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, we estimate a 7.5\u0026ndash;8.3 percent increase in the likelihood of college degree attainment due to having been breastfed, but generally insignificant effects on graduate school attendance. We find the impact of breastfeeding on college completion increases with breastfeeding duration through 12 months. We also find some evidence that breastfeeding has a higher impact on men and African-Americans as compared to women and whites. Finally, the addition of intermediate-term controls suggests that a likely channel through which breastfeeding may impact college graduation is cognitive ability (as measured during adolescence).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe remainder of the paper proceeds as follows. In section 2, we describe the data and methods used in the analysis. Section \u003cspan refid=\"Sec7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e presents our main estimates, as well as the analysis of heterogeneous effects, robustness checks, and consideration of possible channels through with the effects are operating. Section 4 summarizes and concludes.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Data and methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Data\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, hereafter), a nationally representative and school-based longitudinal survey conducted by the Carolina Population Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The survey comprises students in grades 7 through 12 in the initial survey (Wave I), administered in 1994\u0026ndash;1995. In wave I, the primary caregiver (PCG) of respondents, usually their biological mother, was asked questions regarding her health as well as investments in child health, including breastfeeding. Three subsequent waves of follow-up interviews of the original sample took place in 1996, 2001\u0026ndash;2002 and finally in 2007\u0026ndash;2008, when the respondents were aged 24\u0026ndash;33.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur goal is to investigate the long-term impacts of breastfeeding on adult education outcomes. We consider two educational attainments from Wave IV: whether the individual earned a college degree (CD hereafter) and whether they attended any graduate school (GSA hereafter). Our variable of interest is if the respondent was breastfed. We restrict the sample to those cases where the parent was the student\u0026rsquo;s biological mother. A breastfeeding indicator was created from responses to the Wave I parental survey question indicating how long the child was breastfed. This variable is equal to one if the respondent was breastfed for any duration and zero otherwise. We subsequently consider alternative durations of breastfeeding as treatments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSince breastfed adolescents are likely to differ from their non-breastfed peers in several ways that can lead to different academic achievements at later stages, it is important to control for potential confounding factors. We use a large set of controls in our analysis including adolescents\u0026rsquo; demographics (age in Wave IV, gender, birthweight, multiple races, and birth order indicator variables), maternal characteristics (education, occupation, and marital status indicators), and family background characteristics (family size, log household income, if the mother received public assistance, and parent\u0026rsquo;s degree of disappointment if the child did not graduate from college), and an urban residence indicator. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e reports descriptive statistics of these variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Dev.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollege degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.326\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.469\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrad school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.128\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.334\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.451\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.498\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.078\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.794\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge square\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e788.374\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e101.711\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.516\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlack\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.215\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.433\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmerican Indian\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.036\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.187\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAsian\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.199\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther race\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.160\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.248\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBirth weight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.412\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.194\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst born\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.394\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.489\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond born\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.362\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.481\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird born\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.151\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.358\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHS GPA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.594\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.832\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePPVT Score \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.353\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.103\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother completed high school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.302\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.459\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother college education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.145\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.352\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother post college education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.103\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.303\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLog family income\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.547\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.828\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Homemaker\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.104\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.305\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Professional\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.164\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.371\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Executive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.044\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.205\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Technical Expert\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.138\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Clerk\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.179\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.383\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother laborer\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.038\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.192\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother other profession\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.107\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother missing occupation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother received public assistance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.094\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.292\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParents very disappointed\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.429\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.495\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParents somewhat disappointed\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.413\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.492\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.145\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried mother\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.709\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.454\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.523\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e: \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e PPVT Score\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Score (Standardized). \u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e Parent\u0026rsquo;s degree of disappointment if the child didn\u0026rsquo;t graduate from the college.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Methods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur empirical model is as follows:\u003cdiv id=\"Equ1\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equ1\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:{Y}_{i}={\\beta\\:}_{0}+{\\beta\\:}_{1}{Breasted}_{i}+{\\varvec{\\beta\\:}}_{2}^{\\varvec{{\\prime\\:}}}{\\varvec{X}}_{\\varvec{i}}+{\\varvec{\\beta\\:}}_{3}^{\\varvec{{\\prime\\:}}}{\\varvec{Z}}_{\\varvec{i}}+{\\epsilon\\:}_{i}$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"EquationNumber\"\u003e1\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ewhere \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{Y}_{i}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e represents the outcome of individual \u003cem\u003ei\u003c/em\u003e. Our coefficient of interest is \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\beta\\:}_{1}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e, which captures the effects of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance. \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\varvec{X}}_{\\varvec{i}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e is a vector of respondent\u0026rsquo;s characteristics such as gender, age, race, birth weight, and birth order. Additionally, the vector \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{\\varvec{Z}}_{\\varvec{i}}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e comprises maternal, family, and community characteristics of respondents (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e for details).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.1 Doubly robust estimation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe adopt a doubly robust (DR) estimation approach to estimate the causal effect of breastfeeding on college degrees and graduate school attendance. Unlike traditional OLS and PSM techniques, DR methods effectively mitigate bias stemming from outcome or selection model misspecification and demonstrate reduced sensitivity to functional form assumptions. DR estimators integrate a selection model (the propensity score, or the probability of being breastfed) and an outcome model in a manner that necessitates only one of these models to be correctly specified to yield unbiased treatment effect estimates.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this paper, we use the inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) estimator as a doubly robust estimator (Imbens \u0026amp; Wooldridge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Wooldridge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). The IPWRA estimator employs inverse probability weights (IPW) when conducting the regression adjustment (RA) to effectively model both the treatment and the outcome. The weights have no impact on the accuracy of the RA estimator when the treatment model is incorrect, but the outcome model is correct. However, the weights rectify the RA estimator when the treatment model is accurate, but the outcome model is incorrect.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn4\" id=\"#FNLinkFn4\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e The IPWRA estimator proposed by Wooldridge (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e) is utilized in this study to calculate the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe DR estimation based on the IPWRA estimator involves four steps (Tani, Xu, and Zhu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e):\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eInitially, the propensity score is estimated using logistic regression, conditioning it on observed pre-treatment characteristics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubsequently, weighted regression models for the outcome variable are fitted for both treatment and control groups, utilizing the IPW to derive treatment-specific predicted outcomes. All covariates from Eq.\u0026nbsp;(\u003cspan refid=\"Equ1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) are incorporated into the outcome model.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the third step, the means of the predicted outcomes for both treatment and control groups are computed, which are utilized further to estimate the average treatment effect (ATE) of breastfeeding by determining the mean difference between the groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) is computed by confining the mean calculation of the predicted outcomes exclusively to the treatment group. The estimates for ATT are consistent if either the treatment or the outcome model is accurately specified (Imbens \u0026amp; Wooldridge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Wooldridge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.2 Propensity score matching\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs a second approach that is commonly used in the literature, we use PSM to compare the outcomes of breastfed children with those of their non-breastfed counterparts. The strategy effectively simulates a quasi-experiment by generating matched breastfed (i.e., treatment) and non-breastfed (control) samples, with both groups being identical in other observable aspects (Rosenbaum \u0026amp; Rubin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1983\u003c/span\u003e). We adopt a nearest-neighbor matching procedure (with replacement) to match breastfed children to those who were not breastfed.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn5\" id=\"#FNLinkFn5\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e Our key parameter of interest from the PSM is the average treatment effect on the treated, estimated by the difference in mean outcomes between individuals who were breastfed and the matched group of those who were not. To interpret these estimates as causal, it must be assumed that the propensity score includes all relevant variables, or that the effect of unobservable characteristics on the propensity score mirrors that of observable characteristics. This is a more restrictive assumption than what is required for DR estimation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppendix Table A1 provides the post-matching mean values of the covariates used in the analysis by treatment and control groups. Our overall matching results confirm the similarity between treatment and control groups after matching, with only one variable having a marginally significant difference in means.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Main estimates\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Panel A of Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, we present the estimates of the effects of breastfeeding on CD using the full sample and three estimation approaches: Probit, PSM, and IPWRA-DR models.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn6\" id=\"#FNLinkFn6\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e Columns 1\u0026ndash;3 show the specification with demographic controls, while columns 4\u0026ndash;6 present the models that include demographic, maternal, and family background characteristics. The models with demographic controls suggest that having been breastfed is associated with a 0.167\u0026ndash;0.192\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffects of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"10\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProbit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePSM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProbit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePSM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePanel-A: College degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.192\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.190\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.167\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.098\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.083\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.075\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.019)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.024)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.019)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.028)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.038)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePanel-B: Graduate school attendance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.087\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.076\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.071\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.013\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.013)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.014)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.030)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,677\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,677\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,677\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,572\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,572\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,572\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban indicator\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c10\" namest=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"10\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e: PSM stands for propensity score matching and DR indicates the doubly robust method. ATT estimates are reported from the PSM and IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are reported for all three approaches and are presented in parentheses. \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.10, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003epercentage point increase in the likelihood of obtaining a CD. When maternal and family factors are incorporated, the estimates drop substantially to 0.075\u0026ndash;0.098 across the alternative estimators, each of which are statistically significant. Overall, the DR method yields the lowest estimates. Nonetheless, the resulting magnitudes of the estimates are economically meaningful. Given about a third of the sample completes a CD, the DR estimate with the full set of controls suggests that having been breastfed increases the probability of CD attainment by about 23 percent.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe then replicate our analysis of the college degree to examine the relationship between breastfeeding and GSA and report the results in Panel B of Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. While our estimates from different techniques presented in columns 1\u0026ndash;3 indicate a positive relationship between breastfeeding and GSA, our preferred specification with respondent\u0026rsquo;s demographic, maternal, and family background characteristics reported in columns 4\u0026ndash;6 results in small and statistically insignificant estimates. Again, we find relatively lower estimates from the DR approach, suggesting an improved ability of this method to deal with selection bias. Given these comparative findings, we focus on DR as our empirical strategy in the remaining analyses of this paper.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Heterogeneity analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2.1 Heterogeneous treatment effects by gender and race\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite an overall increase in breastfeeding rates in the United States over the past decade, there are still disparities based on race and ethnicity. Studies by Jones et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) and Chiang et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) have shown that racial and ethnic minority groups continue to have lower breastfeeding rates and are not meeting the Healthy People 2020 goals. Other work has found that the likelihood of household breastfeeding initiation may vary by sex of the child (Shafer \u0026amp; Hawkins, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), and even the composition of quantity of breastmilk can differ between boys and girls (Hosseini, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, rates of college degree attainment vary substantially by race, and women are increasingly more likely to obtain a college degree than men (U.S. Census Bureau, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). With these differentials in mind, we now re-estimate our main specification by gender and race.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn7\" id=\"#FNLinkFn7\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe full specification reported in column 2 of Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e suggests that the impact on college degree attainment is mainly concentrated among men, with a 10.7 percentage point increase in the likelihood of obtaining a CD compared to their non-breastfed, male peers. Conversely, though positive, the estimate is statistically insignificant among women.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn8\" id=\"#FNLinkFn8\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e We also find evidence of a significant association between breastfeeding and college degrees among both white and black students, with a more pronounced effect in the latter group. Specifically, we find that having been breastfed is associated with a 15.7 percentage point increase in CD for black students, which doubles the estimated impact among white students.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn9\" id=\"#FNLinkFn9\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e This racial differential in the impacts of breastfeeding is even more substantial relative to the group means of CD (34 percent for whites, compared to 29 percent for blacks). In contrast, our preferred model, incorporating demographic, maternal, and family background characteristics, reveals no significant relationship between breastfeeding and GSA across all subgroups. This aligns with our primary estimates.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHeterogeneous effects of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance by gender and race\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollege degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGraduate school attendance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGender\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.182\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.055\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.083\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.027)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.034)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.021)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.033)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,479\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e904\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,479\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e904\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMales\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.158\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.107\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.053\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.027)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.039)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.018)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.028)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,198\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e668\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,198\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e668\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRace\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBlacks\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.253\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.157\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.105\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.044)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.059)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.035)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.054)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e512\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e322\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e512\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e322\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhites\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.166\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.079\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.067\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.022)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.016)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.026)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,985\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,165\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,985\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,165\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban indicator\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e: ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.10, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2.2 Heterogeneous treatment effects by breastfeeding duration\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo investigate the potential non-linear effects of breastfeeding duration on educational attainment and how the effects vary across different durations of breastfeeding, we consider three duration categories: breastfed for less than 6 months, less than 12 months, and 12 months+.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn10\" id=\"#FNLinkFn10\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e We also investigate the effects of different durations of breastfeeding on CD and GSA to discern the diverging impacts of breastfeeding across durations, with the results shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e. Our primary estimates (reported in column 2) indicate that having been breastfed for less than 6 months is statistically insignificant, while being breastfed for 6\u0026ndash;12 months and 12 months\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;is significantly associated with an 11.7 and 13.4 percentage point higher likelihood of obtaining a CD, respectively. We further find statistically significant differences in ATT values between 1\u0026ndash;6 months and 6\u0026ndash;12 months and between 1\u0026ndash;6 months and 12 months+ (both at the 5% level). However, the difference in ATT estimates between the last two duration categories is relatively small and statistically insignificant, which implies diminished marginal returns to breastfeeding (on higher educational attainment) beyond 12 months. In contrast, upon matching all controls, we observe no statistically significant relationship between different breastfeeding durations and GSA.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffects of different durations of breastfeeding on college degree and graduate school attendance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollege Degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGraduate School Attendance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1m\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;BF\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;6m\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.118\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.030\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.044\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.016)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,047\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,194\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2,047\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,194\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6m\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;BF\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;12m\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.222\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.117\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.104\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.027)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.035)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.022)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.033)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,802\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,040\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,802\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,040\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;12m\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.210\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.134\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.094\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.056\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.037)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.043)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.041)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,590\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e914\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,590\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e914\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban indicator\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e: ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.10, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Exploring potential mechanisms\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this section, we specifically examine two potential pathways through which breastfeeding could impact the probability of obtaining a college degree: (1) the cognitive Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) score, evaluated in Wave 1, and (2) cumulative high school GPA (HSGPA). The estimates from the baseline specification are presented in Column 1 of Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e.\u003ca class=\"FNLink\" href=\"#Fn11\" id=\"#FNLinkFn11\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpon including the PPVT score in the analysis (column 2), we observe that the association between breastfeeding and college degree attainment diminishes in significance and strength, rendering the effect statistically insignificant. Similarly, when we control for HSGPA (column 3), the estimated breastfeeding coefficient decreases from 0.074 to 0.055, representing a reduction of approximately 35%, although it remains statistically significant. Furthermore, the inclusion of both the PPVT score and HSGPA in the model results in a further reduction in the magnitude of the effect, leading to an insignificant association between breastfeeding and college degree attainment. Nevertheless, these results should not be interpreted as evidence for no effect of breastfeeding, as breastfeeding likely influences these added variables. Instead, these factors could serve as mediators of the relationship between breastfeeding and higher educational attainment, as both of these variables likely relate to a higher probability of college admissions, as well as preparedness for success in college. In fact, many public state universities, which are likely targeted options for many high school graduates on the margin of college attendance, have explicit minimum GPAs required for admission or have higher GPA thresholds that result in automatic admission (Clinedinst, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffects of breastfeeding on the college degree after including potential mediating factors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.074\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.042\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.055\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.042\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.031)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.031)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.027)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.028)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,059\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,059\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,059\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,059\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban indicator\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePPVT Score\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHSGPA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"5\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e: ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.10, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4 Robustness checks\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4.1 Excluding low birthweight\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDue to the difficulty of latching, infants in poor health are less likely to be breastfed, which may lead to some structural endogeneity and can influence the effect of breastfeeding. To address this issue, we run models after removing children with low birthweight (\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;5.51 lbs.). Results are consistent with our main estimates, confirming the robustness of our findings (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e, column 1). After controlling for the potential mediating factor PPVT or when both PPVT and HSGPA are included (columns 2 and 4), the effect of breastfeeding on CD again becomes insignificant. The association between breastfeeding and GSA appears to be statistically indistinguishable from zero across all specifications, which aligns with our primary estimates.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4.2 Falsification exercise\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur empirical methodology has attempted to handle selection into breastfeeding, using a rich set of control variables and doubly robust estimation. However, as with any observational study, the possibility remains that unobservables correlated with breastfeeding may influence our\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffects of breastfeeding on the college degree and graduate school attendance excluding low birth weight.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollege degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.084\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.051\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.061\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.048\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.025)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.032)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.029)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGraduate School Attendance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.011\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.008\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.011\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.023)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.027)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.027)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.028)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e999\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e999\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e999\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e999\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUrban indicator\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily controls\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePPVT Score\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh School CGPA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e: ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.10, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eestimates. To examine the potential role of unobservables, we perform a series of falsification exercises. Our first strategy identifies a pre-treatment outcome, birthweight, that could be linked to these unobservables but is unlikely to be impacted by breastfeeding directly unless some selection bias exists. Moreover, a child\u0026rsquo;s birthweight is closely linked to their cognitive outcomes, which is desirable for this type of exercise (Imbens \u0026amp; Wooldridge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, we adopt five other placebo outcomes: whether the respondent was drunk or very high on alcohol at least three times in the past year; whether the respondent smoked cigarettes in the last month; average hours of TV per week; whether the respondent was involved in any physical fight in the previous year; and whether the respondent used marijuana in the past 30 days. These outcomes are likely to be affected by parental investment of time but theoretically should be unaffected by breastfeeding (Rees \u0026amp; Sabia, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). Results from these falsification exercises (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e) suggest that the relationships between the placebo outcomes and breastfeeding are statistically insignificant at conventional levels, providing no evidence of selection bias.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab7\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable A1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCovariate balance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTreated\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eControl\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e%bias\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et-stat\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.105\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.630\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge square\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e792.820\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e788.530\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.600\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.620\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.567\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.546\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.200\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.580\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlack\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.128\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.139\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.540\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmerican Indian\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.030\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-6.900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.140\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAsian\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.045\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.039\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.720\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.450\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther race\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.155\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.142\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.950\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBirth weight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.670\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.566\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.800\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.380\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst born\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.485\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.432\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.800\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.570\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecond born\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.319\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.374\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-11.700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.710\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThird born\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.120\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.141\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-5.800\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.910\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHS GPA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.783\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.746\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.690\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePPVT Score \u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e107.610\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e106.800\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.300\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother completed high school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.236\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.242\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.240\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother college education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.236\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.206\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.060\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother post college education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.157\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.127\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.270\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLog family income\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.726\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.711\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.300\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.360\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Homemaker\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.192\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.180\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.200\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.440\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Professional\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.291\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.300\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.300\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Executive\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.059\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.056\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.240\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Technical Expert\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.660\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother Clerk\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.213\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.264\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-11.200\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.680\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother laborer\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.036\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.051\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-6.400\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.050\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother other profession\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.300\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother missing occupation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.104\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.081\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.170\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother received public assistance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.030\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.037\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.570\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParents very disappointed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.423\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.404\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.800\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.550\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParents somewhat disappointed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.443\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.441\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.500\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.070\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.522\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.473\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.720\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried mother\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.827\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.834\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.700\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.270\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eurban\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.471\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.527\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-11.100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.630\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"1\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003e\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e PPVT Score\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Score (Standardized)\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab8\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 7\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFalsification Exercise\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBirthweight\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrunk\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;3 times a year\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSmoked last 30 days\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTV hours per week\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical fight last year\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsed marijuana last 30 days\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreastfed\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.095\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.023\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.049\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.355\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.064)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.040)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.038)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.827)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.031)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(0.033)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1,572\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e674\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e775\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1567\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e802\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e707\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNotes\u003c/em\u003e: ATT estimates are reported from the IPWRA-DR estimation. The robust standard errors are presented in parentheses. \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.10, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines the effect of breastfeeding on obtaining a college degree and attending graduate school. Overall, our results suggest that breastfeeding may be a key investment in long-term human capital, as breastfeeding is associated with an increased probability of getting a college degree (but is insignificantly linked to graduate school attendance). While the expansive literature on the impacts of breastfeeding largely focuses on childhood health, cognitive or early educational outcomes, our results highlight the lifelong impact that breastfeeding may have on children through college education, a key socioeconomic indicator. In terms of channels, we provide evidence that breastfeeding may affect college degree attainment by impacting, directly or indirectly, cognitive ability and high school GPA.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther studies have also indicated breastfeeding as a key early childhood investment that may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of human capital (Almond, Currie, \u0026amp; Duque, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Our results support this idea with regard to education attainment. There is a substantial socioeconomic gradient in the practice of breastfeeding in the United States, with college graduates being twice as likely to report breastfeeding than mothers with high school or less (Diaz, et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). We find that this differential is compounded by the apparent effect of breastfeeding on the likelihood of one\u0026rsquo;s children ultimately earning a college degree.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur heterogeneity analyses by gender or race indicate that male and black students \u0026ndash; both underrepresented groups in higher education \u0026ndash; have slightly higher returns to having been breastfed. Especially since African-American women have lower rates of breastfeeding, our results support breastfeeding initiation policies targeting this group.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur study is not without limitations. First, due to data constraints, we cannot differentiate between those who were exclusively breastfed and those who received both breast milk and formula. Another issue is the possibility of recall bias, as the survey collects retrospective information regarding breastfeeding. Finally, selection on unobservables cannot be ruled out. Nonetheless, results from our robustness checks, including falsification exercises, bolster the likelihood that remaining unobservables do not significantly alter our estimates.\u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eM.K. carried out the empirical analysis and prepared all tables. A.H. and M.K. both developed the estimation strategy, wrote the main manuscript text, and reviewed and revised the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe appreciate the insightful comments from Jamin Speer, Han Yu, David Kemme, Karar Zunaid Ahsan, and participants of the 2024 North Texas Economics Conference.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data used in this study come from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which may be obtained by researchers from https://addhealth.cpc.unc.edu/data/.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlmond, D., Currie, J., \u0026amp; Duque, V. (2018). Child circumstances and adult outcomes: Act II. Journal of Economic Literature, 56(40), 1360\u0026ndash;1446.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBelfield, C. R., \u0026amp; Kelly, I. R. (2012). 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The lancet, \u003cem\u003e387\u003c/em\u003e(10017), 475\u0026ndash;490.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWehby, G. L. (2014). Breastfeeding and child disability: A comparison of siblings from the United States. Economics \u0026amp; Human Biology, \u003cem\u003e15\u003c/em\u003e, 13\u0026ndash;22.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWooldridge, J. M. (2010). Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, Second Edition. MIT Press.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Footnotes","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e See Table\u0026nbsp;326.10 of the Digest of Education Statistics by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). College completion also differs by race/ethnicity, with 59.2 percent of Hispanic enrollees completing their degree within 6 years and only 45.7 percent of Black enrollees doing so.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e According to the U.S. Census Bureau, among the non-Hispanic white population, the percentage of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree or more was 41.8 percent in 2022. This compares to 27.6 for the African-American population and 20.9 percent for the Hispanic population (U.S. Census Bureau, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e For example, PSM is used by Belfield \u0026amp; Kelly (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), Borra et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), McCrory \u0026amp; Layte (2011), and Rothstein (2013).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Given that the correct functional form isn\u0026rsquo;t perfectly known, weighting can help attenuate the resulting bias (Imbens \u0026amp; Wooldridge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e We impose a common support restriction on both treatment and control groups using the Epanechnikov kernel algorithm with a 0.05 bandwidth. About 0.6% observations are dropped due to not meeting the common support requirements.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Results from the augmented inverse probability weighted estimator (AIPW), another DR estimator, are quantitatively similar to those from IPWRA-DR estimation.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Due to sample size considerations, we focus only on the two largest racial groups, whites and blacks, who comprise 85% of the study sample.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The difference in ATT estimates between males and females is not statistically significant.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Nonetheless, it is not statistically different from the estimate for white students.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The reference group consists of never breastfed respondents.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e This result differs slightly from that in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e due to the small number of missing values of PPVT and HSGPA.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"review-of-economics-of-the-household","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"reho","sideBox":"Learn more about [Review of Economics of the Household](http://link.springer.com/journal/11150)","snPcode":"11150","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11150/3","title":"Review of Economics of the Household","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Breastfeeding, Educational attainment, Human capital, Doubly robust estimation, College degree, Graduate school attendance","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5697247/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5697247/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUsing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the impact of breastfeeding on the likelihood of obtaining a college degree and attending graduate school. Using a doubly robust estimation technique, we find that having been breastfed is linked to an increased probability of obtaining a college degree, but its association with graduate school attendance is largely insignificant. The effect on college degree attainment is primarily concentrated among males, blacks, and whites. Investigating potential mechanisms, we find evidence that these effects are operating through the impact of breastfeeding on adolescents’ cognitive ability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJEL\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e classification\u003c/strong\u003e: I12, I23, J15, I18, C21\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Long-Term Impacts of Breastfeeding on Educational Attainment of Adults","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-02-03 07:40:01","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5697247/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-02-02T20:25:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-02-01T20:54:52+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-01-27T07:46:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"338030933739779733625605754637219305814","date":"2024-12-31T15:17:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"251966371006518097048600803527960127589","date":"2024-12-31T07:14:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-12-31T06:35:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-12-23T10:02:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-12-23T10:01:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Review of Economics of the Household","date":"2024-12-23T06:58:06+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"review-of-economics-of-the-household","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"reho","sideBox":"Learn more about [Review of Economics of the Household](http://link.springer.com/journal/11150)","snPcode":"11150","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11150/3","title":"Review of Economics of the Household","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4a417e92-da9f-47d9-8432-edd927c4fc16","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 3rd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-07-22T21:38:23+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-02-03 07:40:01","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5697247","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5697247","identity":"rs-5697247","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}