Work

Children Are Bridges to Heaven: The Effects of Fertility on Later-Life Mortality

Year: 2025

Type: report

Abstract: Several competing theories in a number of disciplines point to a possible influence of fertility history on health and mortality.However, the direction of effects is theoretically a-priori unknown and the empirical evidence is also inconclusive.This paper examines the effects of fertility during midlife on later-life longevity using Social Security Administration death records linked with the full-count 1940 census.We tackle endogeneity and selection concerns in the longevity-fertility association by implementing an instrumental variable based on the sex composition of first two children.Our findings indicate that having an extra child is linked to a decrease in women's longevity by approximately 5 months.Men, on the other hand, experience smaller and insignificant reductions in longevity of about 3.3 months.This divergence in effects suggests that biological factors may play a small role in the relationship between fertility and later-life longevity.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

DOI: 10.3386/w34378

Authors: Jason Fletcher, Hamid Noghanibehambari

Institutions: National Bureau of Economic Research, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Austin Peay State University

Language: English

Topic: Family Dynamics and Relationships

Subfield: Demography

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging