We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Income Risk, the Tax-benefit System and the Demand for Children.
- Authors
Fraser, Clive D.
- Abstract
Because children represent an irreversible commitment, parents might hedge against higher income risk by having fewer children. We show that, under plausible assumptions, recent increases in income risk might have reduced prudent parents' desired fertility. Responses to this via the tax-benefit system are considered. Introducing an expected revenue-neutral transfer-cum-child-benefit system under proportional taxation, which lets the government share the household's income risk, increases desired fertility for parents who would choose to have small families in this system's absence. Pound for pound, the targeted child benefit enhances fertility more than the lump-sum transfer.
- Subjects
INCOME; HEDGING (Finance); TAX benefits; CHILDREN; HUMAN fertility; HOUSEHOLDS
- Publication
Economica, 2001, Vol 68, Issue 269, p105
- ISSN
0013-0427
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/1468-0335.00236