ERIC Number: EJ883106
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Mar
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-166X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Are Children Really Inferior Goods? Evidence from Displacement-Driven Income Shocks
Lindo, Jason M.
Journal of Human Resources, v45 n2 p301-327 Mar 2010
This paper explores the causal link between income and fertility by analyzing women's fertility response to the large and permanent income shock generated by a husband's job displacement. I find that the shock reduces total fertility, suggesting that the causal effect of income on fertility is positive. A model that incorporates the time cost of children and assortative matching of spouses can simultaneously explain this result and the negative cross-sectional relationship. I also find that a husband's displacement accelerates childbearing, which is consistent with lifecycle models of fertility in which the incentive to delay is driven by expected earnings growth. (Contains 3 figures, 7 tables, and 28 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Dislocated Workers, Family Income, Pregnancy, Females, Spouses, Economic Factors, Economics, Correlation, Models, Whites, African Americans, Age Differences, Marriage, Educational Attainment, Probability
University of Wisconsin Press. 1930 Monroe Street, Madison, WI 53711-2059. Tel: 608-263-0668; Fax: 608-263-1173; e-mail: journals@uwpress.wisc.edu; Web site: http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A