Gene-Environment Effects on Female Fertility

Nicola Barban, Elisabetta De Cao and Marco Francesconi

No 9337, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Fertility has a strong biological component generally ignored by economists. Using the UK Biobank, we analyze the extent to which genes, proxied by polygenic scores, and the environment, proxied by early exposure to the contraceptive pill diffusion, affect age at first sexual intercourse, age at first birth, completed family size, and childlessness. Both genes and environment exert substantial influences on all outcomes. The anticipation of sexual debut and the postponement of motherhood led by the diffusion of the pill are magnified by gene-environment interactions, while the decline in family size and the rise in childlessness associated with female emancipation are attenuated by gene-environment effects. The nature-nurture interplay becomes stronger in more egalitarian environments that empower women, allowing genes to express themselves more fully. These conclusions are confirmed by heterogenous effects across the distributions of genetic susceptibilities and exposure to environmental risks, sister fixed effects models, mother-daughter comparisons, and counterfactual simulations.

Keywords: fertility; genetics; polygenic score; contraceptive pill; nature versus nurture; social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D10 I14 I15 J01 J13 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-env and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Gene‐Environment Effects on Female Fertility (2021)
Working Paper: Gene-Environment Effects on Female Fertility (2021)
Working Paper: Gene-Environment Effects on Female Fertility (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9337

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