Does electrification spur the fertility transition? Evidence from Indonesia
Michael Grimm, University of Passau
We analyze various pathways through which access to electricity affects fertility in Indonesia, using a district difference-in-difference approach. The electrification rate increased by 65 percent over the study period and our results suggest that the subsequent effects on fertility account for about 18 to 24 percent of the overall decline in fertility. A key channel is increased exposure to TV. Using in addition several waves of Demographic and Health Surveys, we find suggestive evidence that increased exposure to TV affects in particular fertility preferences and increases the effective use of contraception. Reduced child mortality seems to be another important pathway.
About the speaker
Michael Grimm is Professor of Development Economics at the University of Passau. He is also an affiliated Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and is a Research Professor at the German Institute of Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin. He holds an MA in Economics from Frankfurt University and an MA in Population Economics and PhD in Development Economics both from Sciences-Po Paris. His research covers problems related to poverty and growth such as education, health and informal labor markets including the evaluation of policy interventions in these domains. He recently directed a Multi-Donor Trust Fund project on informal entrepreneurship. Currently, he is coordinating a field experiment on the effects of health insurance on sharing networks and entrepreneurial investment in Burkina Faso.
Venue: Conference room
Date: 26 March 2015
Time: 12:30 - 13:30 CET
