The Old-Age Security Motive for Fertility: Evidence from the Extension of Social Pensions in Namibia

Pauline Rossi and Mathilde Godard

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Abstract: The old-age security motive for fertility postulates that people's needs for old-age support raise the demand for children. We exploit the extension of social pensions in Namibia during the 1990s to provide a quasi-experimental quantification of this widespread idea. The reform eliminated inequalities in pension coverage and benefits across regions and ethnic groups. Combining differences in pre-reform pensions and differences in exposure across cohorts, we show that pensions substantially reduce fertility, especially in late reproductive life. The results suggest that improving social protection for the elderly could go a long way in fostering fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa. (JEL H55, I38, J13, J14, O15)

Keywords: Fertility Social security; Old-age pensions; Africa; Difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-11-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age and nep-dem
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Published in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022, 14 (4), pp.488-518. ⟨10.1257/pol.20200466⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Old-Age Security Motive for Fertility: Evidence from the Extension of Social Pensions in Namibia (2022)
Working Paper: The Old-Age Security Motive for Fertility: Evidence from the Extension of Social Pensions in Namibia (2021)
Working Paper: The Old-Age Security Motive for Fertility: Evidence from the Extension of Social Pensions in Namibia (2020)
Working Paper: The Old-Age Security Motive for Fertility: Evidence from the Extension of Social Pensions in Namibia (2019)
Working Paper: The Old-Age Security Motive for Fertility: Evidence from the Extension of Social Pensions in Namibia (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03922295

DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200466

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