Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/96774 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 8024
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Prior empirical research on the theoretically proposed interaction between the quantity and the quality of children builds on exogenous variation in family size due to twin births and focuses on human capital outcomes. The typical finding can be described as a statistically nonsignificant two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimate, with substantial standard errors. We regard these conclusions of no empirical support for the quantity-quality trade-off as premature and, therefore, extend the empirical approach in two ways. First, we add health as an additional outcome dimension. Second, we apply a semi-parametric Bayesian IV approach for econometric inference. Our estimation results substantiate the finding of a zero effect: we provide estimates with an increased precision by a factor of approximately twenty-three, for a broader set of outcomes.
Subjects: 
quantity-quality model of fertility
family size
human capital
health
semi-parametric Bayesian IV approach
JEL: 
J13
C26
C11
I20
J20
I10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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