Booms, Busts, and Fertility: Testing the Becker Model Using Gender-Specific Labor Demand

Jessamyn Schaller

Journal of Human Resources, 2016, vol. 51, issue 1, 1-29

Abstract: In this paper, I present estimates of the effect of local labor demand shocks on birth rates. To identify exogenous variation in male and female labor demand, I create indices that exploit cross-sectional variation in industry composition, changes in gender-education composition within industries, and growth in national industry employment. Consistent with economic theory, I find that improvements in men’s labor market conditions are associated with increases in fertility while improvements in women’s labor market conditions have smaller negative effects. I separately find that increases in unemployment rates are associated with small decreases in birth rates at the state level.

Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.51.1.1
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:51:y:2016:i:1:p:1-29

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