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Child survival and contraception choice: Theory and evidence

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  • Bhattacharya, Joydeep
  • Chakraborty, Shankha
  • Kim, Minkyong

Abstract

This paper asks whether increases in child survival bring down fertility and incentivize couples to switch from traditional to modern methods of contraception. Our parsimonious model predicts the answer in each case is, yes. We test these connections using household-level Demographic and Health Surveys from recent fertility transitions using arguably exogenous variation in child survival at the regional level. We find a 1% increase in ambient child survival leads to a fertility drop of 1.2%. The same raises the chance of switching to modern birth control (and sticking to it) by 0.4%. Our finding supports the notion that prevailing rates of child survival influence the effectiveness of family planning programs that promote modern contraceptive use.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhattacharya, Joydeep & Chakraborty, Shankha & Kim, Minkyong, 2023. "Child survival and contraception choice: Theory and evidence," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:77:y:2023:i:c:s0164070423000459
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2023.103545
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fertility; Contraception; Child mortality; Fertility transition; Demographic transition; Demography;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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