In this paper we investigate long-run optimal social security and public health and their effects on fertility, longevity, capital intensity, output per worker and welfare in a dynastic model with altruistic bequests. Under empirically plausible conditions, social security and public health...

We exploit the timing of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the geographical variation in mortality risks individuals faced across states to analyze reproduction decisions. The results of a difference-in-differences approach show evidence that fertility increased in states that are geographically...

We examine patterns in fertility during the demographic transition using a panel data set across 25 Asian countries for 1975-2003. The adult female literacy rate is used as an instrumental variable for the endogenous female labor force participation rate, which has been unsolved in the...