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Estimating the Lifecycle Fertility Consequences of WWII Using Bunching

Author

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  • Esmée Zwiers

    (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract
In the Netherlands, an immediate baby boom followed the end of WWII and the baby bust of the 1930s. I propose a novel application of the bunching methodology to examine whether the war shifted the timing of fertility or changed women’s completed fertility. I disaggregate the number of births by age for cohorts of mothers, and estimate counterfactual distributions of births by exploiting that women experienced the war at different ages. I show that the rise in fertility after the liberation did not make up for the “missed†births that did not occur prior to the war, as fertility would have been 9.4% higher in absence of WWII.

Suggested Citation

  • Esmée Zwiers, 2024. "Estimating the Lifecycle Fertility Consequences of WWII Using Bunching," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 24-027/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20240027
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Lifecycle fertility; bunching; World War II; The Netherlands;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-

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