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Fertility and the oil curse

Author

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  • Dong-Hyeon Kim

    (Korea University)

  • Shu-Chin Lin

    (SungKyunKwan University)

Abstract

The paper empirically investigates whether oil abundance affects fertility in a panel of developing and developed countries for 1970–2020. The exploration sheds light into why poor developing economies rich in natural resources such as Sub-Saharan African countries have stagnated with high fertility. It finds that fertility rises once oil abundance crosses a threshold level, below which fertility drops, controlling for oil volatility and per-capita GDP. The effect operates in part through women empowerment proxied by female’s labor supply and education. It is also found that oil volatility raises fertility. Besides, we observe a reversal of fertility decline once income reaches a certain level.

Suggested Citation

  • Dong-Hyeon Kim & Shu-Chin Lin, 2024. "Fertility and the oil curse," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(2), pages 381-416, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:67:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s00181-024-02570-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-024-02570-7
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Oil; Oil volatility; Fertility; Women empowerment; Economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • Q32 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Exhaustible Resources and Economic Development

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