Puzzles and further explorations in the interrelationships of successive births with husband’s income, spouses’ education and race

The negative effect of education on fertility is stronger at all parities for less educated compared to more highly educated women, and additional income has a less positive (more negative) effect on fertility among nonwhites than among whites.

Abstract

When fertility is examined in the detail of individual parity progressions and birth-order transitions, important interactions between the effects of income and education are seen. Among the findings are: the negative effect of education on fertility is stronger at all parities for less educated compared to more highly educated women. Additional income has a more positive effect for more highly educated than for less educated women. For women with 0-8 years of education the effect of more income is positive when the family has no children but negative thereafter, but for college-educated women the effect of more income is positive. And additional income has a less positive (more negative) effect on fertility among nonwhites than among whites.