Women's Empowerment, the Gender Gap in Desired Fertility, and Fertility Outcomes in Developing Countries

33 Pages Posted: 29 Jan 2018

See all articles by Matthias Doepke

Matthias Doepke

Northwestern University - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Michèle Tertilt

University of Mannheim - Department of Economics

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Abstract

We document evidence on preferences for childbearing in developing countries. Across countries, men usually desire larger families than women do. Within countries, we find wide dispersion in spouses' desired fertility: there are many couples whose ideal family size differs by five children or more. This disagreement between spouses suggests that the extent to which women are empowered should matter for fertility choices. We point to evidence at both the macro and micro levels that this is indeed the case. We conclude that taking account of household bargaining and women's empowerment in analyses of fertility is an important challenge for research.

Keywords: women's empowerment, desired fertility, marital bargaining

JEL Classification: J12, J13, J16, O10

Suggested Citation

Doepke, Matthias and Tertilt, Michèle, Women's Empowerment, the Gender Gap in Desired Fertility, and Fertility Outcomes in Developing Countries. IZA Discussion Paper No. 11262, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3111136 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3111136

Matthias Doepke (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Department of Economics ( email )

2003 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Michèle Tertilt

University of Mannheim - Department of Economics ( email )

D-68131 Mannheim
Germany

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