The contribution of increases in family benefits to Australia's early 21st-century fertility increase: An empirical analysis

Nick Parr*, Ross Guest

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)
6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Between 2001 and 2008 Australia's total fertility rate increased from 1.73 to 1.96. This period also saw changes to family benefits, most notably the introduction of a universal, flat-rate payment at birth and increased subsidisation of childcare. This paper analyses individual-level fertility, using data from a large-scale longitudinal survey and focusing on the effects of changes to family benefits, macroeconomic variables, entitlements to family-friendly working conditions, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. It finds that the effects of the Baby Bonus and the Child Care Rebate are slight, while the effects of education, income, occupation, marital status, age, and parity are significant.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)215-244
Number of pages30
JournalDemographic Research
Volume25
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011

Bibliographical note

Copyright 2010 Nick Parr and Ross Guest. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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