Nonlinear relationship between the number of children and late-life cognition

Yuting Bai, Shiko Maruyama and Si Wang

China Economic Review, 2025, vol. 91, issue C

Abstract: Late-life cognition is a growing concern as populations age. This study investigates how the number of children affects late-life cognition in rural China by exploiting the exogenous variation in the rollout timing of Family Planning Policies. Theoretical analysis suggests a nonlinear effect along the fertility dimension. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we find nonlinear causal effects of fertility. Having one more child when the mother has 4+ children leads to adverse effects on a range of late-life cognition measures, while positive effects exist for episodic memory and mental intactness at low parities, implying hump-shaped effect heterogeneity. Underlying this hump-shaped causal relationship is increased interaction with children but a greater risk of chronic conditions.

Keywords: Late-life cognition; Fertility; Aging; One-child policy; Later, longer, fewer campaign (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I15 J13 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chieco:v:91:y:2025:i:c:s1043951x25000756

DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102417

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