Trade, employment and fertility transition

Ai-Ting Goh (1)

1 NUS - National University of Singapore

This paper investigates the link between trade and fertility in developing countries. Household fertility is determined by the time cost of children. Women working in the manufacturing sector face a higher time cost, and hence desire fewer children than women working in the agricultural sector. If the developing country has a comparative advantage in labour-intensive manufactures, then trade raises the demand for female labour in the manufacturing sector, thus lowering fertility.

Keywords: Trade; fertility; employment; labour intensive exports; capital accumulation; agricultural productivity

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Economics and Finance; Economy and decision science

Ai-Ting Goh. Trade, employment and fertility transition. Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, 1999, Vol.8, n°2, pp.143-184. ⟨10.1080/09638199900000010⟩. ⟨hal-00481683⟩