Life After Loss: The Causal Effect of Parental Death on Daughters' Fertility

Felix Glaser and Rene Wiesinger

No 2024-01, Economics working papers from Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

Abstract: We use high-quality administrative data from Austria to credibly identify the causal effect of parental death on daughters' fertility. To account for the endogeneity of parental death, we exploit the timing of deaths in a difference-in-differences research design. Parental death has no statistically significant effect on daughters' fertility, even in situations where the loss of informal childcare should be particularly pronounced. The absence of a fertility effect is strengthened by an extensive series of robustness checks and results on complementary outcomes, including labor market participation, place of residence, and mental health. Our findings suggest that women do not make significant adjustments to important life decisions after the loss of a parent.

Keywords: Parental death; fertility; difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 J10 J13 J20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-lab
Note: English
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jku:econwp:2024-01

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