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Education and Fertility: Evidence from a Natural Experiment *
Author(s) -
Monstad Karin,
Propper Carol,
Salvanes Kjell G.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the scandinavian journal of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.725
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1467-9442
pISSN - 0347-0520
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9442.2008.00563.x
Subject(s) - postponement , fertility , natural experiment , economics , demographic economics , birth control , psychology , demography , labour economics , population , sociology , medicine , family planning , research methodology , pathology , operations management
Declining fertility is often attributed to the increased education of women. It is difficult to establish a causal link because both fertility and education have changed secularly. In this paper we study the connection between fertility and education using educational reform as an instrument to control for selection. Our results indicate that increasing education leads to postponement of first births away from teenage motherhood and towards women having their first birth in their 20s as well as, for a smaller group, up to the age of 35–40. We find no evidence, however, that more education results in more women remaining childless or having fewer children.