Less for more? Cuts to child benefits, family adjustments, and long-run child outcomes in larger families

Gabriele Mari ()
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Gabriele Mari: Erasmus University Rotterdam

Journal of Population Economics, 2024, vol. 37, issue 2, No 18, 27 pages

Abstract: Abstract Previous studies have examined how cash transfers affect children’s education and health regardless of sibship size. I examine the long-run consequences of a Dutch reform that gradually curtailed child-benefit payments for larger families. Based on administrative data and a regression discontinuity design, I find little evidence of average reform effects on children’s education and mental health. However, children in less well-off households exposed to the reform experience long-lasting educational penalties. Analyses of survey and admin data suggest that, if not for the reform, households would have relied more on centre-based care as opposed to maternal care. Lower parental investments in child-related goods and a more stressful environment accompanied heightened poverty risks after the reform.

Keywords: Child benefits; Family size; Child outcomes; Parental investments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I38 J13 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-024-01029-4

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