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Does Democracy Foster the Fertility Transition?

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  • Alberto Basso

Abstract

type="main"> Using an unbalanced panel covering the period 1870-2000, we find that democracy favours fertility declines. This result suggests that democratic and autocratic environments might affect differently the proximate determinants of fertility. In our analysis we show that democracy affects fertility after controlling for education, mortality risk and GDP per capita. This paper adds to the literature that addresses the issue of identifying how democracy might affect development by identifying and assessing the relevance of a specific mechanism: that is, fostering the fertility transition.

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  • Alberto Basso, 2015. "Does Democracy Foster the Fertility Transition?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(4), pages 459-474, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:68:y:2015:i:4:p:459-474
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/kykl.12094
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    Cited by:

    1. Nikolaev, Boris & Boudreaux, Christopher & Salahodjaev, Rauf, 2017. "Are individualistic societies less equal? Evidence from the parasite stress theory of values," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 30-49.
    2. Boris Nikolaev & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2017. "Historical Prevalence of Infectious Diseases, Cultural Values, and the Origins of Economic Institutions," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 97-128, February.
    3. Jäger, Philipp, 2017. "Bismarck in the bedroom? Pension reform and fertility: Evidence 1870-2010," Ruhr Economic Papers 677, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    4. Jäger, Philipp, 2017. "Bismarck in the bedroom? Pension reform and fertility: Evidence 1870-2010," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168078, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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