Partners, Policy and Fertility. A Study of Childbearing Behavior in Canada

Benoît Laplante, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
Jean-Dominique Morency, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
Constanza Street, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)

In this paper, we try to assess to what extent Canadian couples take into account policies in their childbearing decision process. We use data from a panel survey that provides information about both partners’ income and estimate the effect of labour market and state intervention variables on the hazard of giving birth to the first, second, and third child among Canadian couples in their childbearing years. We focus on the effects of the tax system and of maternity benefits. Results show that the decision of having the first child mainly depends on the economic condition of the woman whereas the decision to have the second child mainly depends of the man’s income. Low-income couples tend to take into account the amount of financial assistance they would receive if they had the next child, whereas middle-income couples seem to take into account the value of maternity benefits.