Fertility effects of college education: Evidence from the German educational expansion

Daniel A. Kamhöfer and Matthias Westphal

No 717, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: We estimate the effects of college education on female fertility - a so far understudied margin of education, which we instrument by arguably exogenous variation induced through college expansions. While college education reduces the probability of becoming a mother, college-educated mothers have slightly more children than mothers without a college education. Unfolding the effects by the timing of birth reveals a postponement that goes beyond the time in college - indicating a negative earlycareer effect on fertility. Coupled with higher labor-supply and wage returns for nonmothers as compared to mothers the timing effects moreover suggest that career and family are not fully compatible.

Keywords: Fertility; family planning; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C31 H52 I21 J12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-edu and nep-eur
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:717

DOI: 10.4419/86788836

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