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Differential fertility and intergenerational mobility under private versus public education

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  • C. Fan
  • Jie Zhang

Abstract

We study differential fertility and intergenerational mobility in an overlapping-generations framework with skilled and unskilled individuals. Assuming unskilled parents are less productive in educating children, we show that they choose higher fertility but less investment for child education than skilled parents. Public education reduces the fertility gap but may increase intergenerational mobility under certain conditions. We also find very different responses of fertility differential and intergenerational mobility to a variation in a preference or technology parameter. As the ratio of skilled to working population rises towards its steady state, average income rises, average fertility falls, but income inequality first rises and then falls. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Suggested Citation

  • C. Fan & Jie Zhang, 2013. "Differential fertility and intergenerational mobility under private versus public education," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 907-941, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:26:y:2013:i:3:p:907-941
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-012-0445-5
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    2. Ryota Nakano, 2024. "Intergenerational Mobility and Student Loans," ISER Discussion Paper 1248, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    3. Aso, Hiroki, 2020. "Endogenous lifetime, intergenerational mobility and economic development," MPRA Paper 99582, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Magalhães, Graziella & Turchick, David, 2022. "Growth and inequality under different hierarchical education regimes," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. Vera Tolstova, 2021. "Voting on Education and Redistribution Policies in the U.S: Does Endogenous Fertility Matter?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp681, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    6. Takakura, Kei, 2023. "Child mortality, child labor, fertility, and demographics," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    7. Simon Fan & Yu Pang & Pierre Pestieau, 2022. "Investment in children, social security, and intragenerational risk sharing," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(2), pages 286-315, April.
    8. Yuki Uchida, 2015. "Education, Social Mobility, and Talent Mismatch," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 15-21, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    9. Kei Takakura, 2020. "Child mortality, child labor, fertility, and demographics," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 20-13, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    10. Simon Fan & Yu Pang & Pierre Pestieau, 2020. "A model of the optimal allocation of government expenditures," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(4), pages 845-876, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Differential fertility; Intergenerational mobility; Education; Inequality; D1; D3; I2; H2; J1; O1;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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