The Child Quantity-quality Trade-off:Evidence From Ghana

This paper examines the trade-off between number of children and the educational attainment(years of schooling attained and completion of college)of children in Ghana for 1984,2000 and 2010 using household demographic data obtained from IPUMS International.Multiple birth is used as an instrument to resolve the issue of endogeneity created by parents jointly determining the quantity and quality of children.The study finds that number of children has a significant negative impact on years of schooling and college completion rate of firstborn children in Ghana.The results imply that firstborn children from larger families receive less years of schooling and are less likely to complete college as compared to those from relatively smaller families.The study finds a larger negative effect for female firstborn children relative to male firstborn children.Estimates from 1984,2000 and 2010 show that the trade-off between number of children and education decreases in as Ghana' s economy grows.