Lam, David, and
Kermyt G. Anderson. Women’s
schooling, fertility, and investments in children in South Africa.
Presented
at the Population Association of America, May 2002.
It is widely observed
that
parental schooling has a negative effect on fertility and a positive
effect
on children’s schooling outcomes. This paper explores the mechanisms
through
which schooling affects fertility and investments in children, and
examines
empirical evidence from South Africa. Modeling the effects of schooling
on choices about the quality and quantity of children, we demonstrate
that
a plausible outcome of increased parental schooling is that parents
will
increase investments in child quality while decreasing the quantity of
children. We show that increases in wives’ labor supply need not
accompany
the decrease in fertility, since home productivity may rise s fast as
labor
market productivity, especially at low levels of schooling. Empirical
evidence
from South African survey data indicates surprisingly weak effects of
schooling
on female labor supply at low schooling levels, in spite of declines in
fertility and increases in market wages. There are much stronger
effects
of parental schooling on children’s schooling attainment. The results
suggest
that the most important effects of schooling on fertility work through
increased investments in child quality, with a relatively small role
played
by increases in wages and labor market opportunities.
Paper
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Last modified: 05-30-03
by Kermyt G. Anderson