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Mortality, the Trade‐off between Child Quality and Quantity, and Demo‐economic Development

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  • Holger Strulik

Abstract

An economy is investigated where parents observe wage rates, interest rates and child mortality and decide about savings and the quantity and quality of their children. Expenditure on child quality causes human capital accumulation as an external effect. If mortality is high parents prefer to have many children and spend only essential rearing effort. Without human capital accumulation the economy may stabilize in an equilibrium of economic stagnation and high population growth. If mortality is low parents prefer to have only few children and spend comparatively large fractions of income on their quality. With human capital accumulation the economy is capable of long‐run growth. The paper also shows the possibility of an endogenously explained demographic transition and a development aid program on education is discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Holger Strulik, 2003. "Mortality, the Trade‐off between Child Quality and Quantity, and Demo‐economic Development," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 499-520, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:metroe:v:54:y:2003:i:4:p:499-520
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-999X.00177
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter J. Stauvermann & Ronald R. Kumar, 2016. "Sustainability of A Pay-as-you-Go Pension System in A Small Open Economy with Ageing, Human Capital and Endogenous Fertility," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 2-20, February.
    2. Holger Strulik, 2004. "Economic growth and stagnation with endogenous health and fertility," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 17(3), pages 433-453, August.
    3. Dierk Herzer & Holger Strulik & Sebastian Vollmer, 2012. "The long-run determinants of fertility: one century of demographic change 1900–1999," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 357-385, December.
    4. Ruben Castro & Jere Behrman & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2015. "Perception of HIV risk and the quantity and quality of children: the case of rural Malawi," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 113-132, January.
    5. Aso, Hiroki, 2020. "Demographic transition and Economic development : the role of child costs," MPRA Paper 99966, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Luca Spataro & Luciano Fanti, 2013. "From Malthusian to Modern fertility: When intergenerational transfers matter," Discussion Papers 2013/163, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    7. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:10:y:2008:i:7:p:1-6 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Anna‐Maria Aksan, 2022. "Son preference and the demographic transition," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 32-56, February.
    9. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:9:y:2008:i:7:p:1-7 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Strulik, Holger & Weisdorf, Jacob, 2007. "The Simplest Unified Growth Theory," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-375, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    11. Weisdorf, Jacob L., 2008. "Malthus revisited: Fertility decision making based on quasi-linear preferences," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 127-130, April.
    12. Luciano Fanti & Spataro Luca, 2009. "Fertility and public debt," Discussion Papers 2009/89, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    13. Luca Spataro & Luciano Fanti, 2011. "The Optimal Level of Debt in an OLG Model with Endogenous Fertility," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(3), pages 351-369, August.
    14. Spataro, Luca & Fanti, Luciano & Pacini, Pier Mario, 2019. "Saving, fertility and public policy in an overlapping generations small open economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 16-29.
    15. Fanti, Luciano & Spataro, Luca, 2013. "On the relationship between fertility and public national debt," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 843-849.
    16. Luca Spataro & Luciano Fanti & Pier Mario Pacini, 2017. "Savings, fertility and public policy in an OLG small open economy," Discussion Papers 2017/230, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    17. Peter J. Stauvermann & Frank Wernitz, 2019. "Why Child Allowances Fail to Solve the Pension Problem of Aging Societies," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-16, December.
    18. Tamotsu Nakamura, 2018. "Solow meets Stone–Geary: Technological progress and the demographic transition," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(4), pages 768-790, November.
    19. Thomas I. Renström & Luca Spataro, 2021. "Optimal taxation in an endogenous growth model with variable population and public expenditure," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 23(4), pages 639-659, August.
    20. Tamara Fioroni, 2010. "Child mortality and fertility: public vs private education," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(1), pages 73-97, January.
    21. Holger Strulik & Jacob Weisdorf, 2008. "Population, food, and knowledge: a simple unified growth theory," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 195-216, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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