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Childbearing age, family allowances and social security

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  • PESTIEAU, Pierre

    (CREPP, Université de Liège, Belgium; Université catholique de Louvain, CORE, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium and Paris School of Economics)

  • PONTHIERE, Grégory

    (Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris and Paris School of Economics)

Abstract

Although the optimal policy under endogenous fertility has been widely studied, the optimal public intervention under endogenous childbearing age has remained largely unexplored. This paper examines the optimal family policy in a context where the number and the timing of births are chosen by individuals who differ as to how early fertility can weaken future earnings growth. We analyze the design of a policy of family allowances and of public pensions in such a setting, under distinct informational environments. We show how endogenous childbearing ages affect the optimal policy, through the redistribution across the earnings dimension and the internalization of fertility externalities. It is also shown that, contrary to common practice, children benefits differentiated according to the age of parents can, under some conditions, be part of the optimal family policy.

Suggested Citation

  • PESTIEAU, Pierre & PONTHIERE, Grégory, 2011. "Childbearing age, family allowances and social security," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2011059, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvco:2011059
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    Cited by:

    1. Hippolyte d'Albis & Angela Luci Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2015. "Avoir un enfant plus tard: Enjeux sociodémographiques du report des naissances," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01245523, HAL.
    2. Marie‐Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2024. "The optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies policies," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1454-1479, July.
    3. Marie-Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2022. "Childlessness, childfreeness and compensation," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 59(1), pages 1-35, July.
    4. Pestieau, Pierre & Ponthiere, Gregory, 2016. "Long-term care and births timing," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 340-357.
    5. Hippolyte d'Albis & Angela Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2017. "Education, Labour, and the Demographic Consequences of Birth Postponement in Europe," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01452823, HAL.
    6. Hippolyte d'Albis & Angela Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2017. "Education, labour, and the demographic consequences of birth postponement in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(23), pages 691-728.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    endogenous fertility; childbearing age; pensions; family benefits;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

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