More than an urban legend: the short- and long-run effects of unplanned fertility shocks

Thiemo Fetzer, Oliver Pardo and Amar Shanghavi
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Amar Shanghavi: Tamu Tamu Tanzania LTD

Journal of Population Economics, 2018, vol. 31, issue 4, No 5, 1125-1176

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines the short- and long-run effects of a quasi-exogenous variation in fertility behavior due to a yearlong period of power rationing in Colombia in 1992. We show that power shortages caused a mini baby boom and that the increase in fertility was unplanned and persistent: the time in between births was reduced and overall lifetime fertility increased. We also present evidence suggesting that women who had a baby due to the outage found themselves in worse socioeconomic conditions 12 years later.

Keywords: Fertility; Infrastructure; Natural experiment; Unplanned parenthood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H41 J13 J16 O18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-017-0685-5

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