The optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies policies

Marie-Louise Leroux, Pierre Pestieau and Gregory Ponthiere

Cahiers de recherche / Working Papers from Chaire de recherche sur les enjeux économiques intergénérationnels / Research Chair in Intergenerational Economics

Abstract: This paper studies the optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) policies in an economy where individuals di˙er in their reproductive capacity (or fecundity) and in their wage. We find that the optimal ART policy varies with the postulated social welfare criterion. Utilitarianism redistributes only between individuals with unequal fecundity and wages but not between parents and childless individuals. To the opposite, ex post egalitarianism (which gives absolute priority to the worst-o˙ in realized terms) redistributes from individuals with children toward those without children, and from individuals with high fecundity toward those with low fecundity, so as to compensate for both the monetary cost of ART and for the disutility from involuntary childlessness resulting from unsuccessful ART investments. Under asymmetric information and in order to solve for the incentive problem, utilitarianism recommends also to either tax or subsidize ART investments of low-fecundity-low-productivity individuals depending on the degree of complementarity between fecundity and ART in the fertility technology. On the opposite, ex post egalitarianism always recommends marginal taxation.

Keywords: fertility; assisted reproductive technologies; non-linear taxation; utilitarian-ism; ex-post egalitarianism. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H31 H51 I14 I18 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem
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Related works:
Journal Article: The optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies policies (2024)
Working Paper: The Optimal Design of Assisted Reproductive Technologies Policies (2022)
Working Paper: The optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies policies (2022)
Working Paper: The optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies policies (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rsi:creeic:2204

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