Child survival depends on the allocation of resources within the household. The size and composition of the sibling set influences parental division of resources and can in turn affect survival chances.In spite of recent advances in research on sibling effects, previous studies have often used the resource dilution hypothesis, which neglects the specific historical context which shapes household structure and organisation. This study therefore focuses specifically on the variation in historical context by examining sibling effects on infant and child mortality in three regions of the Netherlands in the period 1863-1910. It does so by connecting the gendered and the conditional resource-dilution model with each other as a conceptual framework. Changing household composition is taken into account by using longitudinal data from the Historical Sample of the Netherlands, time-varying variables and Cox proportional-hazard models to study sibling size and composition. The results show that the number and gender of siblings play an important role in determining child mortality, but are less significant in determining infant mortality. The number of same-sex siblings has a negative impact on boys' survival chances in the Netherlands, which suggests that after the age of one, boys experienced more competition from their brothers. The reason for this could be their assigned roles within the household and on the family farm. A negative influence of the number of sisters is only found for child mortality chances for girls in the nuclear northwest family region. Here, fewer children were needed to work inside or outside the household, and girls and boys may even have been interchangeable. The results underscore the importance of looking at the interaction between the specific historical context and gender when trying to understand how sibship size and composition influenced children's mortality risks and shaped inequality within the household. ARTICLE HISTORY

This special section contains a collection of articles that study how children are affected by their sibship size and composition by examining their influence on several demographic outcomes across time and space. The importance of the specific historical context, as put forward by the conditional or gendered resource dilution model, seems to be justified, as inheritance practices and gender preferences were determining demographic outcomes. While these studies provide us with the possibility of reflecting on what kinds of pathways/mechanisms are behind sibling effects, they also demonstrate that much more can and should be investigated.Four recommendations for future studies are formulated: (1) future studies should continue on the same path as the articles in this special section and address different outcomes in a variety of contexts to determine under which conditions siblings matter for life transitions and demographic outcomes; (2) theoretical frameworks from different disciplines should be integrated to increase knowledge exchange; (3) researchers should think more about, and be transparent about, how siblings and families are defined; and (4) qualitative studies should be included to a greater extent, since quantitative studies alone cannot answer the questions we have about how and why sibling effects influence life transations and outcomes.

Adoption has been an important historical Eastern Asian family strategy to ensure family continuity. Adopting children out of the household can, however, also be seen as a strategy for dealing with excess children. This topic is the focus of our article, which investigates who was given away for adoption and why in Taiwan during the period 1906-1940. The Taiwan Historical Household Register Database (THHRD), which can take changing household composition over time into account, is analysed using univariate and Cox proportional-hazard analyses. Results demonstrate that gender, birth position among siblings of the same sex, and variation across place and time are the most important factors explaining the likelihood of being adopted for all children. Socio-economic position also played an important role and the presence of a grandfather and grandmother lowered the likelihood of being adopted especially for boys, while only the presence of a grandmother had the same effect for girls. Moreover, when looking more specifically at adoption risks for girls, the age, gender and adoption status of siblings in the household seem to matter as well, as similarly aged young siblings of either sex increased the likelihood of being adopted for girls. These findings underscore that household decision making regarding adoption is more complex than simply giving away later-born children and that it is important to also pay more attention to the reasons and motivation of households in giving away children for adoption. It provides a broader perspective on adoption practices and how children were circulated from households with too many to those with too few and how this benefitted both kinds.

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BACKGROUND Many studies have neglected family processes that take place in more complex households in non-Western societies, while the position in the sibling set of a given person in these societies may be an important factor for determining infant and child mortality risks. OBJECTIVE This article addresses the association of sibling composition with infant and child mortality between the ages of 0 and 5 in Taiwan in the period 1906-1945. Furthermore, the article takes into account regional differences that may affect the impact of the sibling composition on mortality risks. METHODS The Taiwan Historical Household Register Database (THHRD) is analysed by using univariate and Cox proportional hazard analyses. By doing so, the changing household composition over time is taken into account. RESULTS The presence of siblings close in age (younger or up to 5 years older) of either sex, and the presence of same-sex siblings in general, increased mortality risks for male and female infants and children. In addition, the presence of non-adopted and adopted sisters over the age of 5 decreased male infant mortality risks, while the presence of non-adopted brothers over the age of 5 decreased child mortality risks for girls. Limited regional differences in sibling effects are observed. CONTRIBUTION The presence and gender of siblings is not the only important factor in resource dilution in terms of how it influences mortality risks. The age and adoption status of siblings

Little is known about health outcomes after adoption in historical non-Western settings and previous studies have found contradictory results of the influence of adoption on mortality risks. This study investigates if, and how, adoption of infants increased child mortality risks compared to non-adopted children. Moreover, it goes further than existing studies by investigating if, and how, after adoption, household composition and regional context influenced child mortality risks of these adopted children in Taiwan during the period 1906-1945. It uses the Taiwan Historical Household Register Database to answer these questions, estimating univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. The study demonstrates that child mortality risks of both male and female adopted children were much higher compared to non-adopted children. After adoption, household composition was especially important for adopted girls. In particular, similarly aged siblings increased child mortality risks of girls, indicating that the adoptees suffered the consequences of a reallocation of resources. The negative effect of infant adoption on child mortality was the same in all regional contexts. In sum, household composition and regional context should be taken into account when investigating child mortality risks, or other indicators of health inequalities, of adopted children.

Adoption has been an important historical Eastern Asian family strategy to ensure family continuity.Adopting children out of the household can, however, also be seen as a strategy for dealing with excess children. This topic is the focus of our article, which investigates who was given away for adoption and why in Taiwan during the period 1906-1940. The Taiwan Historical Household Register Database (THHRD), which can take changing household composition over time into account, is analysed using univariate and Cox proportional-hazard analyses. Results demonstrate that gender, birth position among siblings of the same sex, and variation across place and time are the most important factors explaining the likelihood of being adopted for all children. Socio-economic position also played an important role and the presence of a grandfather and grandmother lowered the likelihood of being adopted especially for boys, while only the presence of a grandmother had the same effect for girls. Moreover, when looking more specifically at adoption risks for girls, the age, gender and adoption status of siblings in the household seem to matter as well, as similarly aged young siblings of either sex increased the likelihood of being adopted for girls. These findings underscore that household decision making regarding adoption is more complex than simply giving away later-born children and that it is important to also pay more attention to the reasons and motivation of households in giving away children for adoption. It provides a broader perspective on adoption practices and how children were circulated from households with too many to those with too few and how this benefitted both kinds.

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