{"title":"宽带互联网接入如何影响生育决策:证据和机制","authors":"Chunxiao Si , Dihai Wang , Maohua Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.asieco.2025.101962","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid expansion of internet infrastructure has substantially transformed various dimensions of daily life. In the context of China’s declining fertility rate, this study investigates the causal impact of broadband adoption on fertility behavior by employing a difference-in-differences (DID) strategy that exploits the Broadband China initiative as an exogenous policy shock. The empirical results indicate that broadband expansion significantly increases fertility rates among women of reproductive age, and the findings remain robust across multiple sensitivity checks. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that the effects are particularly pronounced among younger women, rural residents, individuals with higher educational attainment, and those with younger spouses or co-residing parents. Mechanism analysis suggests that broadband promotes fertility by enhancing access to healthcare services, facilitating flexible employment arrangements, and improving household financial resilience. These findings underscore the demographic consequences of digital infrastructure development and offer policy-relevant insights for mitigating fertility decline in the digital era.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47583,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Asian Economics","volume":"99 ","pages":"Article 101962"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"How broadband internet access shapes fertility decisions: Evidence and mechanisms\",\"authors\":\"Chunxiao Si , Dihai Wang , Maohua Wu\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.asieco.2025.101962\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>The rapid expansion of internet infrastructure has substantially transformed various dimensions of daily life. In the context of China’s declining fertility rate, this study investigates the causal impact of broadband adoption on fertility behavior by employing a difference-in-differences (DID) strategy that exploits the Broadband China initiative as an exogenous policy shock. The empirical results indicate that broadband expansion significantly increases fertility rates among women of reproductive age, and the findings remain robust across multiple sensitivity checks. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that the effects are particularly pronounced among younger women, rural residents, individuals with higher educational attainment, and those with younger spouses or co-residing parents. Mechanism analysis suggests that broadband promotes fertility by enhancing access to healthcare services, facilitating flexible employment arrangements, and improving household financial resilience. These findings underscore the demographic consequences of digital infrastructure development and offer policy-relevant insights for mitigating fertility decline in the digital era.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":47583,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Journal of Asian Economics\",\"volume\":\"99 \",\"pages\":\"Article 101962\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":2.9000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-05-22\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Journal of Asian Economics\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"96\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049007825000867\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"经济学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"ECONOMICS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Asian Economics","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049007825000867","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
How broadband internet access shapes fertility decisions: Evidence and mechanisms
The rapid expansion of internet infrastructure has substantially transformed various dimensions of daily life. In the context of China’s declining fertility rate, this study investigates the causal impact of broadband adoption on fertility behavior by employing a difference-in-differences (DID) strategy that exploits the Broadband China initiative as an exogenous policy shock. The empirical results indicate that broadband expansion significantly increases fertility rates among women of reproductive age, and the findings remain robust across multiple sensitivity checks. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that the effects are particularly pronounced among younger women, rural residents, individuals with higher educational attainment, and those with younger spouses or co-residing parents. Mechanism analysis suggests that broadband promotes fertility by enhancing access to healthcare services, facilitating flexible employment arrangements, and improving household financial resilience. These findings underscore the demographic consequences of digital infrastructure development and offer policy-relevant insights for mitigating fertility decline in the digital era.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Asian Economics provides a forum for publication of increasingly growing research in Asian economic studies and a unique forum for continental Asian economic studies with focus on (i) special studies in adaptive innovation paradigms in Asian economic regimes, (ii) studies relative to unique dimensions of Asian economic development paradigm, as they are investigated by researchers, (iii) comparative studies of development paradigms in other developing continents, Latin America and Africa, (iv) the emerging new pattern of comparative advantages between Asian countries and the United States and North America.