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Utilitarian population ethics and births timing

Author

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  • Grégory Ponthière

    (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

Births postponement is a key demographic trend of the last decades. To examine its social desirability, we study how utilitarian criteria rank histories equal on all dimensions except the age at which individuals give birth to their children. We develop a T-period dynamic overlapping generations economy with a fixed living space, where individual welfare is increasing in the available space per head, and where agents have children in one out of two fertility periods. When comparing finite histories with an equal total number of life-periods, classical, average and critical-level utilitarian criteria select the same fertility timing, i.e. the one leading to the most smoothed population path. When comparing infinite histories with stationary population sizes, utilitarian criteria may select different birth timings, depending on individual utility functions. Those results are compared with the ones obtained when agents value coexistence time with their descendants. Finally, we identify conditions under which a shift from an early births regime to a late births regime is socially desirable.

Suggested Citation

  • Grégory Ponthière, 2015. "Utilitarian population ethics and births timing," PSE Working Papers halshs-01207185, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-01207185
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01207185
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    population ethics; utilitarianism; fertility; birth timing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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