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The Economics of Fertility Timing: An Euler Equation Approach

Author

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  • David Canning
  • Declan French
  • Michael Moore
Abstract
We develop a dynamic model of fertility, female labour supply and consumption to explain birth timing, particularly why more educated women delay fertility. We express the birth timing decision in an Euler equation framework by treating the probability of fertility in each period as a continuous choice variable, with actual fertility a random outcome given this probability. Within this framework, it is easy to see the effects of economic forces on fertility timing decisions. Using US data we show that women with higher levels of education delay fertility because they can accrue greater benefits from work experience.

Suggested Citation

  • David Canning & Declan French & Michael Moore, 2016. "The Economics of Fertility Timing: An Euler Equation Approach," CHaRMS Working Papers 16-03, Centre for HeAlth Research at the Management School (CHaRMS).
  • Handle: RePEc:qub:charms:1603
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Gahramanov, Emin & Gaibulloev, Khusrav & Younas, Javed, 2017. "Parental Transfers and Fertility: Does the Recipient's Gender Matter?," MPRA Paper 79531, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Births; Female labour supply; Optimisation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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