The Baby Boom and WorldWar II: A Macroeconomic Analysis

Matthias Doepke, Moshe Hazan and Yishay Maoz

No 275822, Foerder Institute for Economic Research Working Papers from Tel-Aviv University > Foerder Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: We argue that one major cause of the U.S. postwar baby boom was the rise in female labor supply duringWorldWar II.We develop a quantitative dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous fertility and female labor force participation decisions. We use the model to assess the impact of the war on female labor supply and fertility in the decades following the war. For the war generation of women, the high demand for female labor brought about by mobilization leads to an increase in labor supply that persists after the war. As a result, younger women who reach adulthood in the 1950s face increased labor market competition, which impels them to exit the labor market and start having children earlier. The effect is amplified by the rise in taxes necessary to pay down wartime government debt. In our calibrated model, the war generates a substantial baby boom followed by a baby bust.

Keywords: Financial Economics; Public Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 56
Date: 2013-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/275822/files/8-2014.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The Baby Boom and World War II: A Macroeconomic Analysis (2015)
Working Paper: The Baby Boom and World War II: A Macroeconomic Analysis (2008)
Working Paper: The Baby Boom and World War II: A Macroeconomic Analysis (2008)
Working Paper: The Baby Boom and World War II: A Macroeconomic Analysis (2008)
Working Paper: The Baby Boom and World War II: A Macroeconomic Analysis (2007)
Working Paper: The Baby Boom and World War II: A Macroeconomic Analysis (2007)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:isfiwp:275822

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.275822

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Foerder Institute for Economic Research Working Papers from Tel-Aviv University > Foerder Institute for Economic Research Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().