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  5. Demographics in Asian Economies
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Demographics in Asian Economies

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM (CST)

Grand Hyatt, Bonham E
Hosted By: American Committee on Asian Economic Studies & American Economic Association
  • Chair: Calla Wiemer, American Committee on Asian Economic Studies

Do Cultural Links Synchronize Fertility Rates between Regions across Countries? Evidence from India and Bangladesh

Manisha Chakrabarty
,
Indian Institute of Management
Amita Majumder
,
Indian Statistical Institute
Ranjan Ray
,
Monash University

Abstract

The study examines the role of historical background and cultural linkage through shared language in comparing fertility rates and their determinants among neighbouring counties that share a common history but have different national identities. The partition of Bengal into West Bengal (India) and East Bengal (Bangladesh) provided the opportunity to examine the issue.

The study is conducted based on information collected from data sources including Censuses and Demographic Household Surveys in the two countries. The study employs a spatial regression model to test for the effect of contiguity on fertility rates. Consistent with the historical developments prior to and after the 1947 partition and the subsequent emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation in 1971, the two Bengals display similar features on several characteristics, including fertility rates and their decline. Fertility rates in the border districts of West Bengal and Bangladesh have moved much closer to one another in the period between the last two Censuses (2001-2011) than have the non-border districts, thus providing evidence of the role that cultural links can play in bridging country divide.

While the shared Bengali language possibly played a role in the cultural linkage, it is important to appreciate that a shared history and similar social outlook in the two Bengals were also key factors in the magnitude and synchronous movement of fertility and related indictors. That it is the mix and not just one or the other is evident from the result that such a feature was not found when we compared West Bengal with her neighbouring states in India nor between the border districts of Bangladesh with those in other non-Bengali states in India, nor when we compare the border districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India which share the same language.

Health Capacity to Work among Older Malaysians

Donghyun Park
,
Asian Development Bank
Norma Mansor
,
University of Malaya
Halimah Awang
,
University of Malaya

Abstract

This paper applies two methodologies to explore the extent to which greater labor force participation of older Malaysians can expand Malaysia’s labor supply. The Milligan-Wise (2015) method estimates the potential to increase the labor participation of older Malaysians by estimating how much they would work if they were to work as much as those with the same mortality rate in the past. The Cutler, Meara, and Richards-Shubik (2013) method estimates the same potential by estimating how much older Malaysians would work if they worked as much as their younger counterparts in similar health. We made further simulations to estimate the capacity of older Malaysians to work after they reach age 60. The results show a significant old-age work capacity in Malaysia, particularly among male, urban dwellers, those with low education, and non-professional workers.

Child Penalty as Fertility Declined: Evidence from Administrative Data in South Korea

Jisoo Hwang
,
Seoul National University
Inkyung Yoo
,
Seoul National University

Abstract

South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world, with a total fertility rate of 0.78. At the same time, it has one of the largest gender gaps in labor market outcomes among developed countries. Women’s labor force participation rate by age continues to depict a M-shaped pattern as many women drop out of the labor force in their thirties. In this paper, we study child penalty, or the effect of parenthood on women’s employment and earnings, as a potential link between South Korea’s low fertility and low female labor force participation. In particular, we investigate how the penalty has changed over time as fertility rates declined to lowest-low levels. To estimate the causal effect of children, we use an event-study difference-in-differences framework on administrative data covering the entire population. In our preliminary analysis, we find that the drop in women’s employment and earnings following first childbirth is substantial and that the child penalty has become larger among recent cohorts of women. We explore the relationship between increasing child penalty and declining fertility in South Korea to understand underlying mechanisms and draw policy implications.

Historical Cereal Endowments, Risk Preference and Female Entrepreneurship

Jie Zheng
,
Shandong University
Chunchao Wang
,
Jinan University
Zhecong Zheng
,
Jinan University
Dawei Feng
,
Jiangxi University

Abstract

Female entrepreneurship benefits economic development and female empowerment. Nowadays, representation of women in entrepreneurship in China is still generally lower than that of men, but varies by region. We investigate the origins of this regional variation by studying the impact of historical cereal endowments on contemporary female entrepreneurship. Our empirical results indicate that higher cereal endowment, measured by agro-climatic potential yields, inhibits contemporary female entrepreneurship by decreasing female risk preference. To explain this, we propose a dynamic model to capture the effect of cereal endowments on the evolution of female risk preference. Our study provides insight into the agricultural origins of female entrepreneurial behavior.

Discussant(s)
Lauren Johnston
,
Sydney University
Shaianne Osterreich
,
Ithaca College
Jaimie Lien
,
Shandong University
Scott Rozelle
,
Stanford University
JEL Classifications
  • J1 - Demographic Economics
  • P5 - Comparative Economic Systems