Effects of Schooling on Fertility, Labor Supply, and Investments in Children, with Evidence from Brazil

Abstract

This study examined the impact of schooling on fertility decline in Brazil. Brazils fertility decline began with few organized family planning programs and continued during periods of economic growth and recession. It is argued that the link between schooling and fertility decline occurred through parents investment in producing healthy well-educated children and trading off quantity for quality. Data were obtained from retrospective fertility histories among over 100000 women who participated in the PNAD household survey in 1984. Fertility decline was only weakly associated with increased female labor force participation. The theoretical background suggests that schooling affects fertility investments in children and the labor market. Child survival varied widely between women with no schooling and women with 11 years of schooling. Mean schooling for males and females rose steadily over time. The most rapid increase occurred for 1940-54 birth cohorts. The percentage of women with under 1 year of schooling declined steadily for men and women and was faster for women (under 10% for the youngest cohort). An increase in wifes schooling from 0-4 years was associated with a decline in children by age 30 years of 0.85 births for younger women and 0.60 births for older women. A model predicted 68% of actual fertility decline in 1935-39 and 1951-53 cohorts. The effect of husbands schooling disappeared after 8 years of schooling while wifes effects continued to be negative. Labor force participation was less at lower levels of education. Schooling strongly effected measures of child quality.