Fertility, Partner Choice, and Human Capital

Eirik B. Abel (), Aline Bütikofer and Kjell Gunnar Salvanes ()
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Eirik B. Abel: Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Postal: NHH, Department of Economics, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway, https://eirikberger.github.io/
Kjell Gunnar Salvanes: Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Postal: NHH, Department of Economics, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway, https://sites.google.com/view/kjellsalvanes/home

No 11/2024, Discussion Paper Series in Economics from Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper generates new insights into the effect of education on fertility and partner choice across multiple generations. Using an intensity-of-treatment design, we leverage population-wide panel data for Norway in combination with a school reform in the 1930s, changing the instruction time during the school year in rural municipalities. The reform was binding for most of the rural population and allows us to estimate the effect of education on fertility behavior across the life-cycle, partner choice, and spillover effects on the next generation’s fertility. We present robust evidence of reduced total fertility and an increase in the age at first birth driven by increased years of education, better labor market outcomes, and mating with better-educated partners. In addition, the reform also affected the fertility behavior of the children and decreased fertility rates across multiple generations.

Keywords: Fertility; partner choice; rural municipalities; labor market outcomes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J13 J24 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2024-07-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
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