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Social capital, human capital and fertility

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  • Raffaella Coppier
  • Fabio Sabatini
  • Mauro Sodini

Abstract

We develop an overlapping generations model to study how the interplay between social and human capital affects fertility. In a frame- work where families face a trade-off between the quantity and quality of children, we incorporate the assumption that social capital plays a key role in the accumulation of human capital. We show how the erosion of social capital can trigger a chain of reactions leading households to base their childbearing decisions on quantity, instead of quality, resulting in higher fertility.

Suggested Citation

  • Raffaella Coppier & Fabio Sabatini & Mauro Sodini, 2018. "Social capital, human capital and fertility," EERI Research Paper Series EERI RP 2018/04, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    • Handle: RePEc:eei:rpaper:eeri_rp_2018_04
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    2. Magalhães, Graziella & Turchick, David, 2022. "Growth and inequality under different hierarchical education regimes," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fertility; quantity-quality trade-off; human capital; education; social capital; trust.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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