Interrelations between Child Education, Health, and Family Size: Evidence from a Developing Country

Abstract

The objectives of this study are first to examine whether small families have a higher propensity for child investment in education and health than do larger families. An economic model is developed as the basis for empirical investigation of the hypothesis that larger family size and lower average per child investment are simultaneously determined. Second by incorporating child health as another measure of child quality it is possible to explore the determinants of child mortality a vital index of the current socioeconomic welfare of a country. Further this approach also permits examination of the interrelations with investment in child health and fertility....The aim...was to design a model that tests the empirical applicability of the New Home Economics postulated by Becker and Lewis in a rural setting of a less developed country. Data from Bangladesh were used.... (EXCERPT)