Economics of Postwar Fertility in Japan: Differentials and Trends

Masanori Hashimoto

64 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Political Economy

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Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics Reproductive Health and Contraception Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences

Abstract

IntroductionJapan experienced a precipitous decline in fertility during the decade following the postwar baby boom of 1947-49, and then her fertility rates leveled off.The rapid decline in fertility paralleled liberalization of abortion laws and an active campaign to disseminate contraceptive information.Given these developments and the apparent subordination of women in Japanese culture, one might be inclined to ascribe the fertility decline to increased availability of abortions and other means of birth control and to doubt the explanatory relevance of economic theory which emphasizes the effects of rising wages and educational attainment of women on fertility.The conclusion that emerges from this study, however, is that the basic economic forces identified by the new economic theory of household decision making have been operating to produce a considerable part of the observed differentials and trends in Japanese fertility.1Indeed, increased use of abortion and contraceptive devices appears to have been induced to some extent by economic forces.

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1986Sexual strategies and social-class differences in fitness in modern industrial societies 1986Wealth, polygyny, and reproductive success 2006Japan's fertility transition: Empirical evidence from the bounds testing approach to cointegration 2008Causal effects of sex preference on sex-blind and sex-selective child avoidance and substitution across birth years: Evidence from the Japanese year of the fire horse 1976An analysis of the impact of education on family size 1994The status of women in Japan: Has the equal employment opportunity law made a difference?1986A theoretical challenge to a caricature of Darwinism 1982Family Labour Supply and Fertility: A Two-Regime Model

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