Does Broadband Internet Affect Fertility?

Francesco Billari, Osea Giuntella and Luca Stella (luca.stella@unibocconi.it)

No 928, SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research from DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)

Abstract: The spread of high-speed Internet epitomizes the digital revolution, affecting several aspects of our life. Using German panel data, we test whether the availability of broadband Internet influences fertility choices in a low-fertility setting, which is well-known for the difficulty to combine work and family life. We exploit a strategy devised by Falck et al. (2014) to obtain causal estimates of the impact of broadband on fertility. We find positive effects of highspeed Internet availability on the fertility of high-educated women aged 25 and above. Effects are not statistically significant both for men, low-educated women, and under 25. We also show that broadband access significantly increases the share of women reporting teleworking or part-time working. Furthermore, we find positive effects on time spent with children and overall life satisfaction. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that high-speed Internet allows high-educated women to conciliate career and motherhood, which may promote fertility with a “digital divide”. At the same time, higher access to information on the risks and costs of early pregnancy and childbearing may explain the negative effects on younger adults.

Keywords: Internet; Low Fertility; Work and Family; Teleworking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J11 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 p.
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ict, nep-lab and nep-pay
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Does broadband Internet affect fertility? (2019)
Working Paper: Does Broadband Internet Affect Fertility? (2017)
Working Paper: Does Broadband Internet Affect Fertility? (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp928

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