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Did Improvements in Household Technology Cause the Baby Boom? Evidence from Electrification, Appliance Diffusion, and the Amish

Author Info

  • Martha J. Bailey
  • William J. Collins

Abstract

We examine the hypothesis that advances in household technology caused the US baby boom, and we find no support for this claim. Advances in household technology occurred before the baby boom, while fertility declined. From 1940 to 1960, levels/changes in county-level appliance ownership and electrification negatively predict levels/changes in fertility rates. Exposure to electricity in early adulthood and children-ever-born are negatively correlated for the relevant cohorts. The Amish, who used modern technologies much less than other US households, experienced a coincident baby boom. This evidence can be reconciled with economic theory if other home-produced goods are substitutes with children. (JEL D12, J13, N32, N92, O33)

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File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/mac.3.2.189
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Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics.

Volume (Year): 3 (2011)
Issue (Month): 2 (April)
Pages: 189-217

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Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:3:y:2011:i:2:p:189-217
Note: DOI: 10.1257/mac.3.2.189
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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
  • N92 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-
  • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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  8. Daron Acemoglu & David H. Autor & David Lyle, 2004. "Women, War, and Wages: The Effect of Female Labor Supply on the Wage Structure at Midcentury," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(3), pages 497-551, June.
  9. Gordon, Robert J., 1990. "The Measurement of Durable Goods Prices," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226304557.
  10. Alexander J. Field, 2003. "The Most Technologically Progressive Decade of the Century," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1399-1413, September.
  11. Gary S. Becker, 1960. "An Economic Analysis of Fertility," NBER Chapters, in: Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries, pages 209-240 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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  13. Robert J. Gordon, 1990. "The Measurement of Durable Goods Prices," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gord90-1.
  14. Martha J. Bailey & William J. Collins, 2004. "The Wage Gains of African-American Women in the 1940s," NBER Working Papers 10621, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  15. Raquel Fernandez, 2007. "Women, Work, and Culture," NBER Working Papers 12888, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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Cited by:

  1. Grimm, Michael & Sparrow, Robert & Tasciotti, Luca, 2014. "Does Electrification Spur the Fertility Transition? Evidence from Indonesia," IZA Discussion Papers 8146, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  2. Stefania Albanesi & Claudia Olivetti, 2010. "Maternal Health and the Baby Boom," NBER Working Papers 16146, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  3. repec:hka:wpaper:2013-03 is not listed on IDEAS
  4. Kohlin, Gunnar & Sills, Erin O. & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K. & Wilfong, Christopher, 2011. "Energy, gender and development: what are the linkages ? where is the evidence ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5800, The World Bank.
  5. Rosamaría Dasso & Fernando Fernandez, 2013. "The Effects of Electrification on Employment in Rural Peru," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0150, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
  6. Andriana BELLOU & Emanuela CARDIA, 2015. "Baby-Boom, Baby-Bust and the Great Depression," Cahiers de recherche 02-2015, Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en économie quantitative, CIREQ.
  7. Bellou, Andriana & Cardia, Emanuela, 2014. "Baby-Boom, Baby-Bust and the Great Depression," IZA Discussion Papers 8727, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  8. Tamura, Robert & Simon, Curtis & Murphy, Kevin M., 2012. "Black and White Fertility, Differential Baby Booms: The Value of Civil Rights," MPRA Paper 40921, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  9. Curtis Simon & Robert Tamura, 2010. "Secular Fertility Declines, Baby Booms and Economic Growth: International Evidence," 2010 Meeting Papers 1041, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  10. Taryn Dinkelman, 2011. "The Effects of Rural Electrification on Employment: New Evidence from South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3078-3108, December.

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