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Environmental degradation and the demand for children: searching for the vicious circle in Pakistan

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  • Filmer, Deon
  • Pritchett, Lant H.

Abstract

If children contribute to the household by using their time to collect natural resources from common property sources—such as collecting firewood, fetching water, collecting fodder, grazing animals—then local depletion of these resources could potentially increase the demand for children. This feedback could create a dynamically unstable ‘vicious circle’ between population growth and resource depletion. We empirically examine several elements of such a ‘vicious circle’ hypothesis using data from Pakistan with unusually rich detail on both child time use and firewood collection activities. We find that collection activities do absorb a substantial part of household resources; that children's tasks are relatively devoted to collection activities; that child time is a significant, but not a dominant, portion of collection activities; and the presence of older children in the household reduces the time that women devote to household tasks. Exploratory multivariate regressions show a partial correlation between indicators of firewood scarcity and fertility—a relationship that varies across regions of Pakistan.

Suggested Citation

  • Filmer, Deon & Pritchett, Lant H., 2002. "Environmental degradation and the demand for children: searching for the vicious circle in Pakistan," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 123-146, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:endeec:v:7:y:2002:i:01:p:123-146_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Masako Ikefuji & Ryo Horii, 2007. "Wealth Heterogeneity and Escape from the Poverty–Environment Trap," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 9(6), pages 1041-1068, December.
    2. Robert Innes & George Frisvold, 2009. "The Economics of Endangered Species," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 485-512, September.
    3. Robi Kurniawan & Shunsuke Managi, 2019. "Linking Wealth and Productivity of Natural Capital for 140 Countries Between 1990 and 2014," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 443-462, January.
    4. Partha Dasgupta, 2013. "The Nature of Economic Development and the Economic Development of Nature," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1349, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    5. Dao, Thang & Kalkuhl, Matthias & Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2022. "The Slow Demographic Transition in Regions Vulnerable to Climate Change," IZA Discussion Papers 15646, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Brian C. Thiede & Sara Ronnkvist & Anna Armao & Katrina Burka, 2022. "Climate anomalies and birth rates in sub-Saharan Africa," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-20, March.
    7. Undp, 2011. "HDR 2011 - Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All," Human Development Report (1990 to present), Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), number hdr2011, September.
    8. Dasgupta, Partha, 2010. "The Place of Nature in Economic Development," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4977-5046, Elsevier.
    9. Sellers, Samuel & Gray, Clark, 2019. "Climate shocks constrain human fertility in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 357-369.
    10. Bhattacharya, Haimanti & Innes, Robert, 2005. "Bi-Directional Links Between Population Growth and the Environment: Evidence From India," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19404, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).

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