Full Citation

Title: Three Essays on the Economics of Fertility

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2016

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Abstract: In my research, I am interested in better understanding the determinants of fertility. My dissertation presents three chapters focusing on different aspects of American fertility. Chapter II focuses on the demand side, using a natural experiment to investigate the effects of an exogenous income and child price shock on the demand for children among women in Alaska. The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is a program that distributes a share of Alaskan state oil revenues to every resident of Alaska, including newborn children, beginning in 1982. Using Vital Statistics and decennial census data, I employ a difference-in-differences methodology to compare the period fertility rates of Alaskans with those of other Americans before and after the introduction of the PFD. Overall, I find that the fertility effects of the PFD are statistically significant but relatively modest and short-lived, consistent with the Easterlin relative-income hypothesis, suggesting that subsequent cohorts of Alaskan women adjusted their material aspirations to include PFD payments. I calculate a short-run price elasticity of demand for children of -1.6, in line with other estimates in the literature.

Url: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/135815/emgray_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Collins, Emily G

Institution: University of Michigan

Department: Economics

Advisor: Martha J. Bailey

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Publisher Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Pages:

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS

Topics: Fertility and Mortality, Gender

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