Looking at the "population problem" through the prism of heterogeneity : welfare and policy analyses
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
International Economic Review
Publication Date
8-1-2008
Volume
49
Issue
3
First Page
799
Last Page
835
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Abstract
Upon introducing heterogeneity and dynamics into a model of the demand for children, a problem of optimal population is defined and analyzed. It is shown that from the perspective of social welfare, better-educated individuals produce too few children while less-educated individuals produce too many children and all individuals invest too little in the education of their children. The impact of several policy tools geared at addressing the "population problem" is investigated, in particular how child allowances and other tax-subsidy policies can be harnessed to enhance welfare, and how and why early childhood education programs can mitigate the "population problem."
DOI
10.1111/j.1468-2354.2008.00498.x
Print ISSN
00206598
E-ISSN
14682354
Publisher Statement
Copyright © International Economic Review
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Fan, C. S., & Stark, O. (2008). Looking at the "population problem" through the prism of heterogeneity: Welfare and policy analyses. International Economic Review, 49(3), 799-835. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2354.2008.00498.x