Abstract
This paper examines a growth model with endogenous consumption, labor-leisure, and fertility. A fertility choice variable capturing both the quality and quantity of the family size enters the utility function positively, but it also generates time costs. Theoretical comparative dynamic results are derived for changes in exogenous production and utility parameters. Employing post-World War II United States data, we estimated the model using a structural VAR with imposed long-run restrictions based on the theoretical predictions. The empirical results lend support to the endogeneity of fertility choice and present dynamic responses of each endogenous variable to employment, fertility, and output shocks.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 255-266 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Review of Economics and Statistics |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 1994 |