The Curvilinearity between Income and Fertility : Evidence from Korea

Abstract

Since Becker (1960) claimed that variation 'in fertility could be understood within the same framework economists used for the analysis of the demand for durable goods, many economists have been interested in the determinants of and differentials in fertility, while differing in the importance attached to various causal variables. Various theories of fertility behavior have developed from the microeconomic perspective such as the utility model, the investment model, and, more recently, the time-allocation model. In different ways, these theories have contributed to our understanding of income differentials in fertility (Becker, 1960, 1964, 1965; Leibenstein, 1957, 1975, 1977, 1981; Easterlin, 1969, 1975, 1978; Mincer, 1963; D. Freedman, 1963; Willis, 1973; Cain and Weininger, 1973; Leriden, 1976).