House Prices and Birth Rates: The Impact of the Real Estate Market on the Decision to Have a Baby
Lisa Dettling and Melissa Kearney
,
(
110
)
Journal of Public Economics
82-100
February
2014
Abstract
This project investigates how changes in Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)-level house prices affect household fertility decisions. Recognizing that housing is a major cost associated with child rearing, and assuming that children are normal goods, we hypothesize that an increase in house prices will have a negative price effect on current period fertility. This applies to both potential first-time homeowners and current homeowners who might upgrade to a bigger house with the addition of a child.