| Title: |
First draft |
| Authors: |
Martin Werding; Jel Code H |
| Contributors: |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
| Source: |
http://www.cesifo-group.de/portal/page/portal/ifoContent/N/neucesifo/CONFERENCES/SC_CONF_2008/Fertility and Public Policy/Werding_fpp08.pdf. |
| Publication Year: |
2008 |
| Collection: |
CiteSeerX |
| Subject Terms: |
Economics of the family; fertility decisions; children; time alloca- tion; female labor supply; public policy; family policy; intergenera- tional redistribution |
| Description: |
This paper reviews potential explanations of the continued fertility decline in devel-oped countries that are provided by the economic theory of the family and discusses their implications regarding the appropriateness of public interventions. Theoretical approaches covered are the quantity–quality interaction in parental fertility deci-sions; time-allocation models with rising opportunity costs of domestic child care; models of intra-household bargaining in which fertility choices affect bargaining po-sitions of the partners involved; and models with intertemporal choices in which fis-cal externalities of child-rearing activities arise from other public intervention into the field of intergenerational distribution. Based on these explanations, the reduction in average fertility may, to a considerable degree, reflect rational adaptations of (po-tential) parents to changes in their economic environment. At closer scrutiny, how-ever, the second and third approach provide some justifications for government ac-tion to better frame the decisions taken at the micro level. The fourth approach defi-nitely calls for corrective measures. The discussion also allows for some conclusions as to which broad categories of policy instruments might be needed in each case. |
| Document Type: |
text |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.556.6154 |
| Availability: |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.556.6154; http://www.cesifo-group.de/portal/page/portal/ifoContent/N/neucesifo/CONFERENCES/SC_CONF_2008/Fertility and Public Policy/Werding_fpp08.pdf |
| Rights: |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.3D762F8F |
| Database: |
BASE |