Change in the economic situation of a family could lead that family to decide to
temporarily delay the birth of a child until their economic situation improved. By
negatively affecting the income and savings of families, an economic downturn may
lead to a short-term decrease in fertility. This decrease is likely a result of families
considering the additional financial costs associated with having a child. Particularly
with the wide availability of modern contraceptive methods enabling a postponement of
fertility in the short-term, this proposed link between economic conditions and fertility
could be considerable.
Couples may, however abandon the idea of contraception because of the
increased cost of contraceptives or the decreased availability of contraceptives as the
result of an economic downturn. Consequently, fertility may rise. Fertility may also
increase if the opportunity cost of having children declines as women become
unemployed. I examine the possible short-term variation in fertility by examining
contraceptive use and willingness to abort in Thailand after the economic downturn
began in 1997.