Do Business Cycles Make Babies? The Effect of Business Cycle Fluctuations On Fertility

Authors

Nicoletta Peters, Macalester College

Document Type

Honors Project - Open Access

Abstract

Economic models often treat fertility as both constant and exogenous, while neither assumption is true. In this paper, I develop a Real Business Cycle model to analyze the impact of business cycle fluctuations on household fertility decisions. I incorporate a fertility decision into a search-based labor market and conduct a general equilibrium analysis of the effects of business cycles. The simulated results show that households increase their fertility during positive economic times, and reduce fertility as unemployment rises.

Recommended Citation

Peters, Nicoletta, "Do Business Cycles Make Babies? The Effect of Business Cycle Fluctuations On Fertility" (2018). Economics Honors Projects. 87.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/economics_honors_projects/87