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Bargaining over Babies: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications

Author

Listed:
  • Matthias Doepke

    (Northwestern University)

  • Fabian Kindermann

    (Universitat Bonn)

Abstract

It takes a woman and a man to make a baby. This fact suggests that for a birth to take place, the parents should first agree on wanting a child. Using newly available data on fertility preferences and outcomes, we show that indeed, babies are likely to arrive only if both parents desire one, and there are many couples who disagree on having babies. We then build a bargaining model of fertility choice and match the model to data from a set of European countries with very low fertility rates. The distribution of the burden of child care between mothers and fathers turns out to be a key determinant of fertility. A policy that lowers the child care burden specifically on mothers can be more than twice as effective at increasing the fertility rate compared to a general child subsidy.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias Doepke & Fabian Kindermann, 2016. "Bargaining over Babies: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications," Working Papers 2016-009, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
  • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2016-009
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; bargaining; child care;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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