Child quality and child quantity : evidence from Bolivian household surveys

Models built on the classical quality-quantity trade-off predict an increase in child quality and a decrease in child quantity in poor developing countries when parental wealth and educational levels increase. This paper tests this prediction empirically in a cross-sectional framework with data from Bolivian household surveys. Instead of focusing on actual fertility levels, the reported desired number of children is considered.The potential problem of ex-post rationalizing births - i.e. the adaptation of desired to actual fertility levels - is taken into account. The empirical findings are in line with the predictions of these models. Furthermore a weak but significant negative impact of fertility exceeding the desired level on educational outcomes is found. -- education ; quality-quantity trade-off ; excess fertility ; Bolivia