abstract: 'OBJECTIVE

  This paper assesses the much-disputed relationship between family policy

  and fertility, and cash transfers and fertility in particular.

  METHODS

  We take advantage of a cash-for-care (CFC) policy introduced in Norway

  in 1998, and compare the subsequent fertility behaviour of eligible and

  ineligible mothers over a four-year period. We estimate linear models

  assessing both the occurrence and timing of second births, relying on a

  rich set of covariates and a sensitivity analysis to ensure the

  robustness of our results.

  RESULTS

  Contrary to theoretical expectations, the results show that CFC-eligible

  mothers had a slower progression to second births and lower short-term

  fertility. The patterns differ between different groups of mothers, and

  the decline in subsequent childbearing is only statistically significant

  among mothers with upper secondary (but not higher) education and

  part-time or full-time employment. We find no increase in short-term

  fertility in any group of mothers, and suggest that this pattern may be

  driven by an interaction between the CFC benefit and the already

  established Norwegian parental leave scheme.

  CONTRIBUTION

  The paper demonstrates how policy changes may indeed be associated with

  changes in fertility behaviour, and that this association may run in

  theoretically unexpected directions when a given policy is implemented

  in a wider policy framework. Moreover, it demonstrates how eligible

  parents may differ in their response to policies depending on the

  policy''s income effect and the parents'' opportunity costs of

  childbearing.'
affiliation: 'Andersen, SN (Corresponding Author), Stat Norway, Oslo, Norway.

  Andersen, Synove N.; Drange, Nina, Stat Norway, Oslo, Norway.

  lappegard, Trude, Univ Oslo, Oslo, Norway.'
article-number: '33'
author: Andersen, Synove N. and Drange, Nina and lappegard, Trude
author-email: sna@ssb.no
author_list:
- family: Andersen
  given: Synove N.
- family: Drange
  given: Nina
- family: lappegard
  given: Trude
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.33
files: []
issn: 1435-9871
journal: DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
keywords-plus: CHILD-CARE; LEAVE; WORK; POLICIES; BENEFIT; NORWAY; IMPACT
language: English
month: MAR 8
number-of-cited-references: '34'
pages: 897-928
papis_id: 88a67f2e191a07f7444f812e23b6686a
ref: Andersen2018cancash
times-cited: '5'
title: Can a cash transfer to families change fertility behaviour?
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000427442400001
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '14'
volume: '38'
web-of-science-categories: Demography
year: '2018'