Estimating the Consequences of Unintended Fertility for Child Health and Education in Romania: An Analysis Using Twins Data

Abstract

We use the natural experiment of twins at first birth to estimate the effects of unplanned fertility on the nutritional status and school enrollment of children in Romania, a country with a unique fertility history. A first-birth twins shock has negative impacts on children's human capital investments, particularly for later-born siblings. We infer that harsh pro-natalist policies prior to the 1989 Revolution had adverse consequences for the human capital of Romanian children, and that policies to make fertility control easier will have significant positive impacts on children's health and schooling.