Women's Schooling, Fertility, and Investments in Children in South Africa

David Lam, University of Michigan
Kermyt G. Anderson, University of Michigan

It is widely observed that parental schooling has a negative effect on fertility and a positive effect on children's schooling outcomes. This paper explores the mechanisms through which schooling affects fertility and investments in children, and examines empirical evidence from South Africa. Modeling the effects of schooling on choices about the quality and quantity of children demonstrates that a plausible outcome of increased parental schooling is increased investments in child quality while decreasing the quantity of children. Increases in women's labor supply need not accompany the decrease in fertility, since home productivity may rise as fast as labor market productivity. Empirical evidence from South African surveys support the model, suggesting that the most important effects of schooling on fertility work through increased investments in child quality, with a relatively small role played by increases in wages and labor market opportunities.