Policies to control population growth depend on assumptions about parents” motivation for having children. This study examines the population implications of the “endogenous fertility” assumption – that is, parents care about the numbers and the welfare of their children and respond to economic constraints and opportunities when making choices affecting their children. Specific attention is given to the implications of the assumption for three issues – optimal population size and growth rate; real and false externalities; and inter- and intragenerational income distribution. The study also examines the “old age security hypothesis”, which views children as a capital good. Various noncoercive population policy alternatives involving taxes, public goods (e.g., education), and child allowances (positive or negative) are also considered. Suggestions for future research, various illustrations, mathematical appendices, and a bibliography are included.
