Quasi-experimental evidence for the causal link between fertility and subjective well-being

Jan Priebe ()
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Jan Priebe: University of Göttingen

Journal of Population Economics, 2020, vol. 33, issue 3, No 4, 839-882

Abstract: Abstract This article presents causal evidence on the impact of fertility on women’s subjective well-being using quasi-experimental variation due to preferences for a mixed sibling sex composition (having at least one child of each sex). Based on a large sample of women from 35 developing countries, I find that having children increases mothers’ life satisfaction and happiness. I further establish that the positive impact of fertility on subjective well-being can be explained by related increases in mothers’ satisfaction with family life, friendship, and treatment by others.

Keywords: Causality; Fertility; Happiness; Subjective well-being; Local average treatment effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 D10 I31 J17 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:33:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s00148-020-00769-3

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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-020-00769-3

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