The role of husband's and wife's economic activity status in the demand for children

Abstract

The existing literature on household demand for children in developing countries focuses on women's choice of different types of market activity. Many types of work in the informal sector are considered to be more compatible with child care because they put less demands on women's time. The presence of such compatibility effects is used to explain why women's wage rates or labor force participation rates are not always negatively related to the fertility rates. However, households in the informal sector may own a family business, which can lead them to have a greater demand for children because child labor can be more productively employed in the family enterprise. Consequently, not only is wife's choice of market activity type important in determining fertility demand, but so is husband's choice. The new emphasis is on men's role. Micro data from the urban sector of Hong Kong are used to test for the presence of both the compatibility and child labor effects on fertility demand with positive results. Our study shows that incorporating husband's choice of market activity type can be important in the analysis of fertility demand in developing countries. © 1987.