Effects of early childhood intervention on fertility and maternal employment: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial

Malte Sandner

Journal of Health Economics, 2019, vol. 63, issue C, 159-181

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a randomized study of a home visiting program implemented in Germany for low-income, first-time mothers. Besides improving child health and development, a major goal of the program is to improve the participants’ economic self-sufficiency and family planning. I use administrative data from the German social security system and detailed telephone surveys to examine the effects of the intervention on maternal employment, welfare benefits, household composition, well-being, and fertility behavior. The study reveals that the intervention decreased maternal employment by 9.3 percentage points and increased subsequent births by 6.4 percentage points, in part through a reduction in abortions.

Keywords: Early childhood intervention; Randomized experiment; Fertility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H52 I21 J12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Effects of Early Childhood Intervention on Fertility and Maternal Employment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial (2017)
Working Paper: Effects of Early Childhood Intervention on Fertility and Maternal Employment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial (2016)
Working Paper: Effects of Early Childhood Intervention on Fertility and Maternal Employment: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:63:y:2019:i:c:p:159-181

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2018.11.003

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