Public Policy and the Income-Fertility Relationship in Economic Development

Masako Kimura and Daishin Yasui ()
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Daishin Yasui: Kobe University

No 834, KIER Working Papers from Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research

Abstract: In the pre-industrial era, there was a positive association between income and fertility across households within societies, but in the modern era, a clear association does not seem to exist, neither positive nor negative. Why the income-fertility relationship within societies changed over time is an unsolved puzzle in the history of economic growth, one that has been raised by Gregory Clark (e.g., A Farewell to Alms, 2007). This paper suggests that public policy for children has a key role in solving this puzzle. The interaction between changes in public policy for children and economic development generates changes in the income-fertility relationship across households, as well as hump-shaped dynamics of the average fertility rate over time.

Pages: 37pages
Date: 2012-12
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Public Policy and the Income-Fertility Relationship in Economic Development (2012)
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