Fertility and Labor Market Responses to Reductions in Mortality

Sonia Bhalotra, Atheendar Venkataramani () and Selma Walther
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Atheendar Venkataramani: Massachusetts General Hospital

No 11716, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We investigate women's fertility, labor and marriage market responses to large declines in child and maternal mortality that occurred following a major medical innovation in the US. In response to the decline in child mortality, women delayed childbearing and had fewer children overall. Fewer women had three or more children, and a larger share remained childless. We present a new theory of the extensive margin response, premised upon improvements in child survival reducing the time women need to achieve their target number of children. This prompts fertility delay and labor market entry which, coupled with wage or fecundity shocks, can result in childlessness. Consistent with these predictions, we find that reductions in child mortality increased women's labor force participation, improved their occupational status and reduced their chances of ever having married. Maternal mortality decline had opposing effects on all of these outcomes.

Keywords: medical innovation; women's labor force participation; fertility timing; childlessness; child mortality; maternal mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 120 pages
Date: 2018-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published as 'Women’s Fertility and Labor Market Responses to a Health Innovation' in: Journal of the European Economic Association, 2023, 21 (4), 1595–1646,

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https://docs.iza.org/dp11716.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Fertility and Labor Market Responses to Reductions in Mortality (2022)
Working Paper: Fertility and Labor Market Responses to Reductions in Mortality (2022)
Working Paper: Fertility and Labor Market Responses to Reductions in Mortality (2021)
Working Paper: Fertility and Labor Market Responses to Reductions in Mortality (2021)
Working Paper: Fertility and labor market responses to reductions in mortality (2018)
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