Oxford Economic Papers Advance Access originally published online on April 26, 2007
Oxford Economic Papers 2007 59(3):430-457; doi:10.1093/oep/gpm012
© Oxford University Press 2007 All rights reserved
Do abler parents have fewer children?
Department of Economics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel; e-mail: msbin{at}mscc.huji.ac.il
| Abstract |
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A quality versus quantity theory of fertility is proposed that predicts that more able parents chose to produce fewer children because they wish to invest more in their children's education. Using Mincer residuals to measure the unobserved ability of parents, data for Israel are used to show that given everything else more able parents tend to produce fewer children. This is true for fertility data and for birth hazards. Fertility is also found to depend upon social norms, education, and child benefit.
Key Words: JEL classifications: J13 J62