Fertility and Family Type in the United States: a Historical Analysis

Pensieroso, Luca;Sommacal, Alessandro;Spolverini, Gaia
(2024) , 89 pages

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Authors
  • Pensieroso, LucaUCLouvain
    Author
  • Sommacal, AlessandroUniversity of Verona
    Author
  • Spolverini, GaiaUCLouvain
    Author
Abstract
We provide a historical decomposition of fertility in the United States by family type. We find that intergenerational coresidence was systematically associated with lower fertility than nuclear families, with the difference shrinking over time. This pattern is robust to controlling for several demographic and socioeconomic confounders. We build a simple, analytical model and show that a theory featuring both endogenous fertility and endogenous coresidence can rationalise the observed cross-family fertility difference. Simulations from a calibrated dynamic general equilibrium version of the model show that the model has the right qualitative behaviour, and is quantitatively meaningful. Using individual data, we discuss (and dismiss) several potential alternative explanations.
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Pensieroso, L., Sommacal, A., & Spolverini, G. (2024). Fertility and Family Type in the United States: a Historical Analysis (LIDAM Discussion Paper IRES 2024/06). https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/269274