In: Economics
In a fertility model where children are treated as consumption goods, suppose price of children falls, but income also falls, then
Select one:
a. People will have more children.
b. People will have fewer children.
c. There will will be no change in fertility.
d. it is uncertain whether fertility will rise or fall.
The answer is not B) People will have fewer children
The answer is: D). it is uncertain whether fertility
will rise or fall.
If the price of any normal good falls, you want to have more of it,
so you want more children if child price drops. You want to have
less of everything if your income falls. So you want to have fewer
children from this perspective. The effects work in opposite
directions. The final effect depends on whether the price effect or
the income effect is stronger.