Working Paper: NBER ID: w30316
Authors: Sonia R. Bhalotra; Atheendar Venkataramani; Selma Walther
Abstract: We investigate women’s fertility, labor and marriage market responses to a health innovation that led to reductions in mortality from treatable causes, and especially large declines in child mortality. We find delayed childbearing, with lower intensive and extensive margin fertility, a decline in the chances of ever having married, increased labor force participation and an improvement in occupational status. Our results provide the first evidence that improvements in child survival allow women to start fertility later and invest more in the labor market. We present a new theory of fertility that incorporates dynamic choices and reconciles our findings with existing models of behavior.
Keywords: fertility; labor market; mortality; child health; women's empowerment
JEL Codes: I18; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| introduction of antibiotics (Y20) | decline in pneumonia mortality (I14) |
| decline in pneumonia mortality (I14) | delay in childbearing (J13) |
| delay in childbearing (J13) | lower fertility rates (intensive margin) (J19) |
| delay in childbearing (J13) | lower fertility rates (extensive margin) (J19) |
| decline in pneumonia mortality (I14) | increase in childlessness (J13) |
| decline in pneumonia mortality (I14) | fewer net children per woman (J13) |
| decline in pneumonia mortality (I14) | increase in women's labor force participation (J21) |
| decline in pneumonia mortality (I14) | increase in occupational scores (J24) |
| decline in pneumonia mortality (I14) | investment in careers (J24) |