This thesis examines the causal effect of having children on various indicators of women’s health. Existing literature presents mostly only associations. Using a dataset of Australian identical twins allows us to control for (un)observed characteristics such as genes and much of the socioeconomic and demographic environment that potentially affect both having children and health. Isolating the influence of these characteristics, we find that having children has a negative effect on alcohol use. Having children reduces subjective wellbeing and smoking prevalence. The effects are robust for various specifications and checks. We do not find a causal link between having children and BMI, overweight or obesity.

Webbink, H.D.
hdl.handle.net/2105/17188
Business Economics
Erasmus School of Economics

Stelpstra, H.S. (2014, November 4). The Effect of having Children on Women's health: Evidence from Australian twins. Business Economics. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2105/17188