Fertility Dynamics: Spacing and Timing of Births in Sweden and the United States (Contributions to Economic Analysis 229)

This is one of the most comprehensive and statistically sophisticated economic studies of the fertility determining process. The volume examines the relationship between women's wage rates and men's income and fertility with duration analysis, using panel data from Sweden and the United States. The volume focuses on the timing and spacing of births in the life cycle rather than on the ultimate number of children. The dynamic relationship is represented in a Continuous Time Birth Process framework, using event-history analysis. The results from these Swedish and American fertility studies show that the widespread expectations of a negative wage-rate effect and a positive income effect on fertility are not generally borne out. This is one of the most comprehensive and statistically sophisticated economic studies of the fertility determining process. The wealth of information in the book may be used to refine future investigations of fertility determinants.