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Fertility outcomes and parental well-being in later life: Evidence from India

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  • Bhat, Bilal Ahmad
  • Chatterjee, Esha
  • Thakur, Sounak

Abstract

We study the effect of fertility outcomes on parental well-being in post-reproductive ages. The context is India, where the gender of the firstborn is plausibly random, and parents with firstborn daughters end up having more daughters. For both women and men, we find that having a firstborn daughter leads to lower subjective life satisfaction and an increase in labor supply in their post-reproductive years. We present suggestive evidence that these results are plausibly driven by greater financial stress associated with marrying off daughters, and, for women, by the long-term effects of abortion and lower autonomy in households with firstborn daughters.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhat, Bilal Ahmad & Chatterjee, Esha & Thakur, Sounak, 2025. "Fertility outcomes and parental well-being in later life: Evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:177:y:2025:i:c:s0304387825000860
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103535
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Older adults; Post-reproductive; Son preference; Life satisfaction; Fertility; Gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I19 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Other
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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