Does Broadband Internet Affect Fertility?

Francesco Billari, Osea Giuntella and Luca Stella ()

No 10935, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

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 high-speed 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: 35 pages
Date: 2017-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-ict, nep-lab, nep-pay and nep-reg
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

Published - published in: Population Studies, 2019, 37 (3), 297 - 316

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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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