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The political economy of fertility

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Abstract

This paper studies the political economy of fertility. Specifically, I argue that fertility may be a strategic choice for ethnic groups engaged in redistributive conflict. I first present a simple conflict model where high fertility is optimal for each ethnic group if and only if the economy’s ethnic diversity is high, institutions are weak, or both. I then test the model in a cross-national dataset. Consistent with the theory, I find that economies where the product of ethnic diversity and a measure of institutional weakness is high have increased fertility rates. I conclude that fertility may depend on political factors.

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  1. Dept. 3985, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    Thorsten Janus

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Janus, T. The political economy of fertility. Public Choice 155, 493–505 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-011-9879-7

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