Does welfare reform affect fertility? Evidence from the UK

Mike Brewer, Anita Ratcliffe and Sarah dSmith ()
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Sarah Smith

Journal of Population Economics, 2012, vol. 25, issue 1, 245-266

Abstract: This paper provides evidence on the effect of welfare reform on fertility, focusing on UK reforms in 1999 that increased per-child spending by 50% in real terms. We use a difference-in-differences approach, exploiting the fact that the reforms were targeted at low-income households. The reforms were likely to differentially affect the fertility of women in couples and single women because of the opportunity cost effects of the welfare-to-work element. We find no increase in births among single women, but evidence to support an increase in births (by around 15%) among coupled women. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2012

Keywords: Welfare reform; Fertility; J13; J18; H53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (41)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Does welfare reform affect fertility? Evidence from the UK (2008)
Working Paper: Does Welfare Reform Affect Fertility? Evidence from the UK (2007)
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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-010-0332-x

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