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Does Agglomeration Discourage Fertility? Evidence from the Japanese General Social Survey 2000-2010

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  • KONDO Keisuke

Abstract

This study employs Japanese household-level data to quantify the extent to which congestion diseconomy in large cities affects married couples' fertility behavior. The theoretical model of this study emphasizes the importance of controlling for preference heterogeneity in the demand for children. The baseline quantification shows that, all else equal, a 10-fold difference in city size generates a spatial variation of -22.13% in the average number of children born to couples aged 30 and a spatial variation of -6.07% at age 49. The narrowing of the gap suggests that young married couples in larger cities delay childbearing.

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  • KONDO Keisuke, 2015. "Does Agglomeration Discourage Fertility? Evidence from the Japanese General Social Survey 2000-2010," Discussion papers 15067, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:15067
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    Cited by:

    1. Hiroshi Goto & Keiya Minamimura, 2019. "Geography and Demography: New Economic Geography with Endogenous Fertility," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 537-568, December.
    2. Xiaoyin Li & John V. Winters, 2024. "Fertility divergence across large and small areas," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), June.
    3. Hiroshi Goto & Keiya Minamimura, 2015. "Geography and Demography: New Economic Geography with Endogenous Fertility," Discussion Paper Series DP2015-33, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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