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The Fertility Response to Cutting Child Related Welfare Benefits

Author

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  • Sandner, Malte

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany)

  • Wiynck, Frederik

    (IAB)

Abstract

"Despite long-term interest whether welfare benefits motivate fertility, evidence from research has not been consistent. This paper contributes new evidence to this debate by investigating the fertility effect of a German welfare reform. The reform decreased the household income of families on welfare by 18 percent in the first year after the birth of a baby. Using exclusive German social security data on over 460,000 affected women, our analysis finds the reform leads to a fertility reduction of 6.8 percent. This result implies that for mothers on welfare, fertility has an income elasticity of 0.38, which is much smaller than that of general populations reported in the literature. Our findings suggest that welfare recipients’ fertility reacts less strongly to financial incentives than the fertility of overall populations." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Sandner, Malte & Wiynck, Frederik, 2022. "The Fertility Response to Cutting Child Related Welfare Benefits," IAB-Discussion Paper 202201, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:202201
    DOI: 10.48720/IAB.DP.2201
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sanan Abdullayev & Allan Puur, 2024. "Varying responses to the introduction of earnings-related benefits: a study of 2004 parental leave reform in Estonia," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 1-31, December.
    3. Sochas, Laura & Chanfreau, Jenny, 2024. "Austerity as reproductive injustice: Did local government spending cuts unequally impact births?," SocArXiv 894p3, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; IAB-Open-Access-Publikation ; Auswirkungen ; Elterngeld ; Einkommensanrechnung ; Eltern ; Familieneinkommen ; Frauen ; Fruchtbarkeit ; Haushaltseinkommen ; Mütter ; Reformpolitik ; Sozialhilfe ; Sozialhilfeempfänger ; 2005-2016;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • C54 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Quantitative Policy Modeling

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