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(Why) Do Self-Employed Parents Have More Children?

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Author Info
Nzinga Broussard
Ralph Chami
Gregory Hess ()

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Abstract

We provide a theory whereby non-benevolent, self-employed households increase their expected family size to raise the likelihood that an inside family member will be a good match at running the business. Hence, having larger family sizes raises the self-employed household's expected return to their business. Using data from the General Social Survey, we find that respondents have approximately .2 to .4 more actual and expected number of children if they are self-employed as compared to if they are not self-employed. This empirical relationship is established across a broad array of sub-samples using a simple differences in means test. As well, the empirical relationship holds using a regression framework, including the use of instrumental variables estimation to allow for the possibility of endogeneity of the respondent's self-employment status and whether the respondent's spouse stays at home.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by CESifo GmbH in its series CESifo Working Paper Series with number CESifo Working Paper No. 1103.

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Date of creation: 2003
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Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1103

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Related research
Keywords: self-employed children familiy business matching

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Schultz, Theodore W, 1973. "The Value of Children: An Economic Perspective," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(2), pages S2-13, Part II, . [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Bernheim, B Douglas & Shleifer, Andrei & Summers, Lawrence H, 1985. "The Strategic Bequest Motive," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(6), pages 1045-76, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Cox, Donald, 1987. "Motives for Private Income Transfers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 508-46, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Jie Zhang & Junsen Zhang, 1997. "Fertility and Wage Rates in an Overlapping-Generations Model," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 30(1), pages 224-34, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. George J. Borjas, 1986. "The Self-Employment Experience of Immigrants," NBER Working Papers 1942, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Michael Hout & Harvey S. Rosen, 1999. "Self-Employment, Family Background, and Race," NBER Working Papers 7344, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Chami, Ralph & Fischer, Jeffrey H, 1996. "Altruism, Matching, and Nonmarket Insurance," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(4), pages 630-47, October.
  8. Appelbaum, Elie & Katz, Eliakim, 1991. "The Demand for Children in the Absence of Capital and Risk Markets: A Portfolio Approach," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 43(2), pages 292-304, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Bruno Frey & Matthias Benz, 2003. "Being Independent is a Great Thing: Subjective Evaluations of Self-Employment and Hierarchy," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Gregory D. Hess, 2004. "Marriage and Consumption Insurance: What's Love Got to Do with It?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(2), pages 290-318, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Willis, Robert J, 1973. "A New Approach to the Economic Theory of Fertility Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(2), pages S14-64, Part II, . [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Altig, David & Davis, Steven J, 1992. "The Timing of Intergenerational Transfers, Tax Policy, and Aggregate Savings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(5), pages 1199-220, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Arnott, Richard & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1991. "Moral Hazard and Nonmarket Institutions: Dysfunctional Crowding Out or Peer Monitoring?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(1), pages 179-90, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Leung, Siu Fai, 1991. "A Stochastic Dynamic Analysis of Parental Sex Preferences and Fertility," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(4), pages 1063-88, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Barro, Robert J & Becker, Gary S, 1989. "Fertility Choice in a Model of Economic Growth," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(2), pages 481-501, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Chris Robinson & Nigel Tomes, 1982. "Family Labour Supply and Fertility: A Two-Regime Model," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 15(4), pages 706-34, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Schultz, T Paul, 1985. "The Demand for and Supply of Births: Fertility and Its Life Cycle Consequences," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(5), pages 992-1015, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Ralph Chami & Gregory Hess, 2002. "For Better or For Worse? State-Level Marital Formation and Risk Sharing," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  19. Barton H. Hamilton, 2000. "Does Entrepreneurship Pay? An Empirical Analysis of the Returns to Self-Employment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(3), pages 604-631, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2007. "What Makes a Young Entrepreneur," IZA Discussion Papers 3139, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. David G. Blanchflower, 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 3130, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. David G. Blanchflower, 2008. "Minority Self-Employment in the United States and the Impact of Affirmative Action Programs," NBER Working Papers 13972, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. David G. Blanchflower & Chris Shadforth, 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 2818, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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