Essays on fertility and health economics

Households may have different preferences and have to make various decisions under the constraints they face. This dissertation is a collection of three essays about the effect of earnings and other socio-economic variables on households' investment decisions in fertility and health. In the first study, I explore the effect of income shocks on the timing of fertility responses of households. I present a simple life-cycle model of fertility and childbearing that allows the information about income shocks to have an effect not only in the period of shock, but also before and after the shock. I derive testable implications of the model for the effect of exogenous longterm shocks to household income on household fertility. I use Panel Study of Income Dynamics to test the implications of the model using husband's layoffs and plant closures as sources of income shocks within a hazard model. I find that the impact of husband's job loss on fertility differs in magnitude by type of husband's job loss (plant closings vs. layoffs) and by the order of birth. I also find that households adjust their fertility mostly in the long run. My findings are consistent with the hypothesis of income effect of husband's earnings on fertility.; In the second study, I analyze the effect of female and male earnings on the timing and spacing of births and total fertility in the U.S. The U.S. wage structure experienced substantial changes due to energy price shocks, increased international competition, and technological change. I use these types of relative wage changes to identify the effects of female and male earnings on fertility. I utilize Survey of Income and Program Participation panels to construct individual fertility histories and U.S. birth certificates data to construct age-specific and total birth rates. I use state, region and education specific wage trends constructed from the CPS Outgoing Rotations data to identify the effect of female wages and male earnings. Results using individual and group-level earnings both indicate that a higher female wage leads to delay of first births. Male earnings were not found to play an important role for the timing and spacing of births. My results with grouped data on age-specific and total birth rates suggest that higher female wages reduce births among the younger women but have no effect on the total fertility.; In the third study, I explore the effect of behavioral and socio-economic factors on the diet quality of households. Diet quality has many implications for human health. Recent increases in consumption of added sugars in the U.S. can reduce intake of vital nutrients and increase the overall energy intakes. This study analyzed the proximate determinants of 7-day availability (or use) of various nutrients by 913 households participating in the National Food Stamp Program Survey conducted in 1996-97. Households' uses of added sugars, vital minerals and vitamins were explained by socioeconomic, behavioral and dietary factors. Linear programming analyses have shown that higher prices of nutritious foods can lower the quality of diets. Participation in WIC program, food stamp benefits, and consumption of low-fat diets were significantly (P<0.05) associated with lower added sugars use. Furthermore, greater use of added sugars significantly lowered households' uses of protein, iron, vitamins A, C, B-6, and B-12, and potassium. Behavioral and socioeconomic variables were often significant predictors of nutrient use. Overall, the results indicated that added sugars should be discouraged in dietary guidelines since their adverse effects on diet quality were evident in this low-income population.