Can Public Policy Affect Fertility?

Douglas E. Hyatt and William J. Milne

Canadian Public Policy, 1991, vol. 17, issue 1, 77-85

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between a number of government programs and the total fertility rate. Uisng a simple time series model, which explicitly considers the labor market behavior of women, we find that government programs which implicitly alter the costs of having a child have a small, but positive, impact on fertility. The results suggest that during the 1980s, a one percent increase in the real value of Unemployment Insurance maternity benefits would results in an increase in the total fertility rate of between 0.09 and 0.26 percnet. The paper is timely in view of the recent pro-natalist policies introduced by the Quebec government.

Date: 1991
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