Preventing a new baby: Impact of air pollution on fertility intention

This study is the first to investigate the causal link between air pollution and fertility intentions in China, using data from the 2016 China Labor-Force Dynamic Survey to assess the fertility intentions of different sexes for differentiated groups of respondents. The findings show significant negative effects of air pollution on immediate fertility intentions. Specifically, a one standard deviation increase in the daily Air Quality Index in the past three months decreased the immediate fertility intention of interviewees by 0.7527 standard deviations. Moreover, the study reveals that young women who live in more polluted areas show a higher reduction in fertility intention than their counterparts. The results illustrate that air pollution is a key contributor to the son preference and that there is still a marked preference for sons over daughters in China.