Title: Fertility, Female Labor Force Participation, and the Demographic Dividend
Abstract: We estimate the effect of fertility on female labor force participation in a cross-country panel data set using abortion legislation as an instrument for fertility.We find a large negative effect of the fertility rate on female labor force participation.The direct effect is concentrated among those aged 20-39, but we find that cohort participation is persistent over time giving an effect among older women.We present a simulation model of the effect of fertility reduction on income per capita, taking into account these changes in female labor force participation as well as population numbers and age structure.