title: Endogenous fertility, Ricardian equivalence, and debt management policy.
abstract: This paper develops a model in which dynastic families optimally determine fertility.  Government debt represents a tax on future generations and on childbearing; the Ricardian Equivalence Hypothesis does not hold.  Debt is welfare reducing in that it distorts the fertility decision.  An increase in government debt induces a decline in fertility and an increase in the steady state capital/labor ratio.  If a government inherits an existing stock of debt, the 1st-best policy is to eliminate the debt immediately.  In other situations the optimal debt management policy will not, in general, entail a total elimination of the debt.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Lapan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Enders
mesh_terms: D003710:Demography; D004467:Economics; D004651:Employment; D005298:Fertility; D005376:Financial Management; D005380:Financing, Government; D006076:Government; D006280:Health Workforce; D011057:Politics; D011153:Population; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011640:Public Policy
keywords: Capital; Demographic Factors; Economic Conditions; Economic Factors; Fertility; Financial Activities; Financing, Government; Government; Human Resources; Labor Force; Macroeconomic Factors; Policy; Political Factors; Population; Population Dynamics